After two years of speculation and being rumored as a potential suitor for White Sox left-hander Jose Quintana, the Yankees are now officially out of the sweepstakes for the Colombian native, as the White Sox have pulled off an incredibly surprising blockbuster trade with their rivals from the North-side.
The Yankees had been connected to Quintana for years as the 28-year-old lefty had once been in their farm system, but the word had continued to be the White Sox asking price remained far too steep.
The price has not appeared to drop at all, as it took the Cubs’ top two prospects and two other younger prospects to solidify the deal. The headliner of the deal from the Cubs is their top ranked prospect and the number 5 overall prospect in baseball according to Baseball America, outfielder Eloy Jimenez.
BREAKING: #Cubs acquire Jose Quintana from #WhiteSox for Eloy Jiménez, Dylan Cease, Matt Rose and Bryant Flete. @MLB @MLBNetwork
— Jon Morosi (@jonmorosi) July 13, 2017
If the asking price remained the same for the Yankees it appears it would’ve taken Gleyber Torres and possibly even Clint Frazier to land Quintana, which would have absolutely been off the table as it appears both prospects are solidly viewed as untouchable. Even a combination of one of these coupled with Justus Sheffield, Chance Adams or even James Kaprielian would not seemingly have been enticing enough for the Yankees to pull the trigger on Quintana.
Quintana has long been a steady, and very solid starter with great career numbers, holding a  3.51 ERA in 172 major league appearances over 6 seasons. He earned the nod as an American League All Star in 2016, but it is worth noting that Jose is off to the worst start of his career in 2017, going 4-8 with a 4.49 ERA in 18 starts.
Follow me on Twitter, @JaredSaul
