A potential Jose Quintana trade remains one of the biggest talking points of the MLB offseason. The Quintana narrative will continue until either the left-hander is traded, or the regular season begins.
Quintana will always have interest, as he is one of the best pitchers in the MLB. But with no team willing to match Rick Hahn’s demands, no deal has been close.
While the constant Quintana trade rumors have been exhausting on fans, it seems as if the White Sox ace’s potential landing spot has been narrowed down to two teams.
For the most part the New York Yankees, Houston Astros and Pittsburgh Pirates have been the three teams most involved in Quintana. A new report states that one of those teams has dropped out of the race, leaving the other two to battle out for Quintana’s services.
Recently Yankees general manager Brian Cashman appeared on the Yes Network. While appearing he stated that his team is “all but done” with offseason moves.
While Cashman is still making calls on free agents to assess the market, he also said he's 99.9 percent sure the Yankees are set.
— Jack Curry (@JackCurryYES) January 10, 2017
He went on to say that Quintana’s price tag was too high for comfort, leading the Yankees to end trade talks.
On Yankees Hot Stove, Cashman said sticker price for Quintana is beyond what he'd pay. Hearing White Sox wanted at least 3 elite prospects
— Jack Curry (@JackCurryYES) January 10, 2017
The Yankees have one of the better farm systems in the MLB including six players in the top 100, according to MLB Pipeline. Any of those six would be great additions to the White Sox continuing the impressive rebuild Hahn has going on in the South Side.
However the Yankees dropping out may be a blessing in disguise for the White Sox.
While the Yankees have elite prospects, they clearly weren’t willing to trade them. Hahn needs to trade Quintana for the best value available. If he isn’t going to get it from the Yankees, then there’s no point to continue conversation with them.
Perhaps talks could pick back up with the Yankees if Cashman changes his point of view. But for now, it appears as if the White Sox and Yankees won’t be completing a trade this offseason.
Barring a late entry from the illustrious “mystery team”, it will come down to the Pirates and Astros for Quintana’s services. It’ll all depend on which team feels they need Quintana more and offers the better prospects.
The Jose Quintana saga could drag out over the next few months. Atleast fans could take solace knowing that it’ll likely come down to just two teams.
Feel free to continue the conversation on Twitter: @DFappiano14
