According to Jeff Passan and confirmed by others, the Pittsburgh Pirates are trading left-handed pitcher Jose Quintana to the St Louis Cardinals. More to come as soon as information becomes available.
The St. Louis Cardinals are finalizing a deal to acquire left-hander Jose Quintana from the Pittsburgh Pirates, sources tell ESPN.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) August 2, 2022
Quintana was a free agent signing this off-season on a one-year deal, so it’s possible that he returns to the Pirates next year. During his time in Pittsburgh, he went 3-5, 3.50 in 20 starts, with a 1.27 WHIP, a 3.24 FIP and a 89:31 SO/BB ratio in 103 innings.
There are reports from a reliable source that the Pirates are getting pitcher Johan Oviedo and 1B/3B Malcom Nunez from the Cardinals. NOTHING IS FINALIZED/OFFICIAL YET, but here are looks at those two players.
Johan Oviedo is a 24-year-old right-handed pitcher, who has started in the past, but he’s pitching in relief this year. He comes with five years on control and has a 3.20 ERA, 4.07 FIP, 1.30 WHIP and a 26:7 SO/BB ratio in 25.1 innings this year. Over three partial seasons in the majors, he has a 4.65 ERA/5.01 FIP in 112.1 innings, with a 1.47 WHIP and a 93:54 SO/BB ratio.
Nunez is ranked as a 10th best prospect for the Cardinals by MLB Pipeline and 13th best by Baseball America. He is 21 years old, standing 5’11”. 205 pounds. He’s playing in Double-A this year in the Texas League, where he’s hitting .255/.360/.463 in 85 games, with 11 doubles, 17 homers, 48 walks and 71 strikeouts in 350 plate appearances. He has played third base through most of his career, but a majority of his time has been at first base this year. The Texas League is a more hitter-friendly league than the Eastern League (Altoona), and Nunez ranks 32nd in the ten-team league in OPS among players with at least 200 plate appearances. Nunez was heavily scouted by the Pirates before they passed on signing him, then he signed for a lower priced deal with the Cardinals.
Derrick Goold, who covers the Cardinals for the St Louis Post-Dispatch, is reporting that Chris Stratton is also included in the deal. He notes here that nothing is finalized yet
Quintana deal also includes RHP Chris Stratton coming to the #stlcards, according to a source. He's made 40 appearances, 39 in relief for the #Pirates. Former first-round pick has 37 Ks in 40 2/3 innings.
Story will be updated:https://t.co/ur7P6y6oBE
— Derrick Goold (@dgoold) August 2, 2022
UPDATE: The deal has been confirmed. Quintana and Stratton for Oviedo and Nunez. Stratton has one more year left before free agency, but it would have been unlikely that he was back with the Pirates unless he had a resurgence during the final two months. He’s getting $2.7M this year and he has a 5.09 ERA and a 1.55 WHIP in 40.2 innings.
We have acquired RHP Johan Oviedo and 3B/1B Malcom Nuñez from the St. Louis Cardinals in exchange for LHP José Quintana and RHP Chris Stratton. pic.twitter.com/z9YmU7ZKMo
— Pittsburgh Pirates (@Pirates) August 2, 2022
