Pittsburgh Pirates Rumors: Jose Quintana and Potential Cost

The Pittsburgh Pirates need to add at least one starting pitcher this off-season.  So far they have not been very active on that front, but this morning a rumor came out.

The Pittsburgh Pirates have an obvious need for at least one if not two starting pitchers.  Many are hoping that the Bucs strike a deal to bring back Ivan Nova.  However, many have tosses around the idea that the Pittsburgh Pirates have the farm system to swing a significant trade.  Well it sounds like they are trying to do so.  According to Buster Olney the Pittsburgh Pirates have been working hard to acquire Chicago White Sox pitcher Jose Quintana.  Quintana would represent a significant upgrade to the rotation as he has been one of the most consistent pitchers in the American League over the last few seasons.

Buster Olney is a typical, well respected insider in baseball.  He does not tweet or write stuff without fact checking as much as he can first.  Whenever Olney makes statements one can take them as very legitimate.  Here is what Olney tweeted this morning:

"“The Pirates have worked hard to try to make a trade for Jose Quintana, whose modest contract is perfect for their budget size.”  TweetMore from Rum BunterPittsburgh Pirates Prospect Stockwatch: Outfielder Tres GonzalezPittsburgh Pirates Podcast: Rum Bunter Radio Talks Winter Meetings FalloutPittsburgh Pirates: Potential Leadoff Hitters in 2023Pittsburgh Pirates: The Rotation is not being ImprovedPittsburgh Pirates Make Vince Velasquez Signing Official"

One major stepping stone when the Bucs try and acquire players is their contract.  However, Quintana is locked up for multiple years and a fairly cheap price.  This is what the Pittsburgh Pirates would love to acquire in any player.  The right-handed pitcher is locked up over the next four seasons and would be owed 36.85 million dollars over those years.  For the 2017 season he will make a very below rate of seven million dollars.  This contract is very affordable but also leads to a higher asking price from the White Sox.  Many have speculated that they want a deal similar to what they received from the Red Sox for Chris Sale.

Prospects

The Bucs have the system to do this.  Any player in the system should be available to make this deal minus one specific player.  The one player who should not be available is Austin Meadows.  He is the eventual replacement to Andrew McCutchen and could find himself in Pittsburgh at any moment with the continuing McCutchen rumors.  With that staring a package around top prospect Tyler Glasnow should not be out of the question.  Yes he is MLB ready, but he obviously is still very raw and needs more time to develop.  Meanwhile if you acquire Quintana there is less of a need for Glasnow down the road.

Obviously you would have to give up multiple prospects.  Adding to Glasnow would most likely be Elias Diaz.  Diaz is considered one of the best all-around catching prospects in baseball.  The White Sox have been trying to find a young catcher of the future.  With the Pittsburgh Pirates extending Cervelli over the next three seasons and Diaz spending parts of the last two seasons at Triple-A, it may be time to utilize him in a deal.  The Bucs cannot keep Diaz down in their Triple-A forever.  These would be the two most logical pieces, and obviously it would take more.  The White Sox received four prospects from the Red Sox in their deal.  So a deal of at least two top ten guys and two more top 25 prospects would be the expectations.

Next: Bucs in on Ross

In Conclusion

Jose Quintana would be a slam dunk pick up for the Pittsburgh Pirates.  He is a proven work horse the majors and will not restrict their budget going forward.  The asking price is high for the White Sox, but he would immediately give the Pirates a formidable top three in their rotation. Chances are Buster Olney is correct in the information he has shared.  With that, expect to continue and here more and more news on the rumors as the day continues.