Pirates Offseason Trade Target: Jose Quintana

As the Pirates continue their search for starting pitching help this offseason, one potential trade target is Jose Quintana.

The Chicago White Sox are definitely in a bit of a rebuilding mode. They are a team in need of young talent. And they have some solid veteran options that could be traded for said young talent.

One of these players is left-handed pitcher Jose Quitana. The 27-year old Quintana has two more years remaining on his contract. Additionally, he also has two option years on his contract. Due to these he is under team control for four more years.

Last season Jose Quintana logged 208 innings. This was the fourth consecutive season in which he pitched at least 200 innings. He has reached the 200 inning threshold in each of his Major League seasons except his rookie one in 2012. This makes Quintana someone who is very capable of giving the Pirate rotation a lot of innings.

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Quintana averaged 7.83 K/9, 2.16 BB/9, 0.95 HR/9, and posted a 1.16 WHIP in 2016. He posted a 3.20 ERA, 3.56 FIP, 4.03 xFIP, and a 4.8 WAR. This marked the third consecutive season in which Quintana posted a WAR of at least 4.8.

Jose Quintana has logged 915 innings during his Major League career. He has averaged 7.39 K/9, 2.31 BB/9, 0.80 HR/9, and his WHIP is 1.24. Quintana has always had good control and has never had a problem with the long ball. This, obviously, is always a good thing. He owns a 3.41 career ERA, 3.47 FIP, and a 3.79 xFIP.

A move to PNC Park and the National League would help Quintana as well. Not only is PNC Park a great park for left-handed pitchers, he would not have to deal with the designated hitter in the National League.

If there is a concern with Quintana it would be that in 2016 he allowed a career high hard contact rate of 32.7 percent. However, his career hard contact rate is just 28.9 percent, and had never been higher than 29 percent prior to 2016. So, most likely, that was just an aberration.

The Pittsburgh Pirates need to add at least two starting pitchers this offseason. Preferably, one is a number three type starting pitcher and one is an innings eater. Well, Quintana fits both of these bills.

An addition of Jose Quintana would give the Pirates a very good top three in their rotation. Gerrit Cole, Jameson Taillon, and Quintana would be a great trio. And best of all, the Pirates would have this trio for at least four seasons.

Next: Previewing The Non-Tender Deadline

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