Pittsburgh Pirates: Two Jose Quintana Trades to the AL

The Toronto Blue Jays are one of the teams expected to pursue starting pitching.  The Blue Jays rotation ranks as the fourth worse in the American League with a team ERA of 4.08.  They also have had trouble keeping their pitchers on the mound. Hyun-Jin Ryu is done for the season and Yusei Kikuchi just went to the IL as well. Also of note, one of Jose Quintana’s best starts of the 2022 season came against the Jays’ division rival Yankees. In fact, Jon Morosi linked the Jays to Quintana.

Coming back to the Pittsburgh Pirates is 3 prospects.  the main piece would be outfielder Gabriel Martinez.  The 21-year-old would slot in the lower minors and give the Bucs a very good outfield prospect behind this current young crop.  He is an advanced hitter with really good bat speed but is likely limited to playing right or left field.

Hayden Juenger and Chad Dallas are the two pitchers coming back in the deal.  Juenger looks to be a very typical relief prospect.  He has a mid-90s fastball with a plus slider giving him the stuff to be a 7th, 8th, or 9th inning guy in the future. Dallas is a starting pitching prospect who is on the rise.  He saw an uptick in his stuff last season and now projects to be a potential starter with strikeout stuff.

Of the two teams, I would prefer the deal with the Twins.  However, it may be hard to find a team who has exactly what the Pittsburgh Pirates need/want for Quintana.  Both of these teams should definitely be in the mix for his services.