Jon Morosi of MLB Network reported that the Yankees have interest in Chicago White Sox left-handed pitcher Jose Quintana. It is unknown the level of interest New York has but this should not come as a surprise. The Yankees continue to look for young controllable pitchers to add to their thin rotation.
#Yankees interested in Jose Quintana, source says, and they have the sort of prospects #WhiteSox are looking for. @MLB @MLBNetwork
— Jon Morosi (@jonmorosi) December 19, 2016
Quintana is 27-year-old and is signed through 2018. Last season, the southpaw went 13-12 with a 3.20 earned run average in 32 games started. He is exactly the type of pitcher the Yankees love. With only three spots filled in their rotation, Quintana makes sense for them.
However, with the trade market set extremely high for good, young, left-handed pitchers, it will take a big haul for the Yankees to get this done. After being sellers during last season’s trade deadline, the Yankees got the kind of return to make them a top one or two farm system in baseball. If there is any team to make this type of deal it is the Yankees.
Gleybar Torres, Clint Frazier, Justus Sheffield and Jorge Mateo could all be in-play. In order to get a top pitcher in today’s game, it takes the kind of package that will change a franchise. The Yankees have the right pieces that would interest the rebuilding White Sox. But is Quintana worth it?
Quintana struck out 180 batters while only walking 50, which is a great rate. However, he gave up 22 home runs in the American League Central, which features very pitcher-friendly ballparks. He is one of the top pitchers in the league who seems to be entering his peak years. The Yankees would get a much needed number two starter and a left-hander to complement Masahiro Tanaka.
The White Sox would get a package of the Yankees top prospects. I would be surprised if either Frazier or Torres are including. I think the Yankees value those two too high to trade them away. A package starting with Mateo and Sheffield plus a couple others would seem to be as high as the Yankees would go. These two teams line up very well for a potential trade here and it will say a lot about the Yankees plans for 2017 if they go ahead and get Quintana.
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