Jose Quintana has heard his name in trade talks for most of the offseason. He is one of the most coveted players in the trade market and arguably the best pitcher available.
Quintana has been in the MLB for the past five seasons, all with the White Sox. He has appeared in 154 games and 951 innings. Quintana holds a career 46-46 record with a 3.41 ERA and a 781/244 K/BB ratio. He was voted to his first All Star game in 2016.
Quintana also comes on an extremely team-friendly contract. He is making just $7 million in 2017 and is under team control until 2020.
The White Sox pitcher has thrown atleast 200 innings with a sub 3.60 ERA the past four seasons. He is one of the most consistent pitchers in the MLB. Quintana gives any team a front-line starter at a discounted rate.
The three teams most connected to Quintana have been the New York Yankees, Pittsburgh Pirates and Houston Astros. All three are in need of top of the rotation starter and have a farm system deep enough to complete a trade.
According to a new report from Jon Morosi, the Houston Astros have begun to gain serious traction with the White Sox over Quintana.
José Quintana trade talks continue, sources say, with #Astros among the most serious suitors. @MLB @MLBNetwork
— Jon Morosi (@jonmorosi) January 6, 2017
The Astros were one of the first teams to be connected to the White Sox over Quintana. Houston has completely revamped their offense adding Josh Reddick, Carlos Beltran and Brian McCann.
Adding Quintana would give the team a powerful 1-2 punch atop the rotation with former CY Young winner Dallas Keuchel and Quintana. Having a strong rotation coupled with a dominant offense could help the Astros surpass the Indians and Red Sox in the AL.
It is not yet known what the Astros could offer for Quintana. The team does have four prospects inside the top 100 according to MLB.com. A package surrounding any of those four prospects would likely get the deal done.
ESPN’s Peter Gammons once reported that the White Sox asked for Francis Martes, Kyle Tucker and Joe Musgrove.
When Astros askewd on Jose Quintana, Chisox asked 3 names:Francis Martes, Kyle Tucker, Joe Musgrove
— Peter Gammons (@pgammo) December 10, 2016
There is a chance that this offer could be back on the table. Perhaps the Astros start getting desperate and make a move for Quintana.
While the return package is not yet known, the Astros now seem like the clear favorites to trade for Quintana. They have a clear need and the prospect pool to get it done. It all comes down to if they really want the White Sox ace.
With so much smoke there is soon to be fire, and soon, Jose Quintana could be heading to the Houston Astros.
Feel free to continue the conversation on Twitter: @DFappian14
