Pittsburgh Pirates Rumors: Jose Quintana Ranked 8th Best Trade Chip

The Pittsburgh Pirates are expected to be sellers at this year’s Trade Deadline.  They have a veteran starter who is likely to be traded.

Jose Quintana is going to be traded within the next 24-48 hours.  There is no question about it.  The Pittsburgh Pirates signed Quintana to a modest 1-year contract worth 2 million dollars this past offseason.  The thought was that Quintana would be a good bounce-back candidate and a potential trade chip.

Quintana has fulfilled his purpose with the Pittsburgh Pirates.  The 33-year-old pitcher is enjoying one of the best seasons he has had in years, making him an attractive trade target to contending teams.  On the year Quintana has pitched to a 3.70 ERA across 19 starts.

Teams are going to be calling on the rental starter. Mark Feinsand of MLB.com believes that Quintana will be one of the most sought-after players.  Feinsand released his most likely to be traded list, with Quintana ranking 8th out of the 12 total players listed:

"8) José Quintana, Pirates LHP (starter)Five years ago, Quintana was one of the most notable names on the trade market… It’s been a tough run for Quintana since then, but the lefty is enjoying a bounce-back season with the Pirates, giving Pittsburgh a solid trade chip heading into the Deadline. With only about $650,000 left on his contract, Quintana will be a highly sought-after rental arm."

One of his best starts of the season came against the New York Yankees on July 3rd.  He pitched 5 innings while only allowing 1 run to a stellar offense. He helped the Pittsburgh Pirates get a win against the best team in Baseball. Furthermore, he also fanned 7 of their hitters showing he has strike-out stuff.  Many joked that the Yankees or Blue Jays would deal for Quintana after that start.

Well, it looks like that very well could happen.  There will be a long list of teams calling on the veteran starter.  Hopefully, Ben Cherington does the right thing and stays patient until he gets the best deal.  As teams miss out on bigger names like Luis Castillo and Frankie Montas, Quintana will become the “more affordable” option.