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Cardinals Trade Target: Why Jose Quintana Makes Sense for St. Louis

By Josh Jacobs |
DENVER, COLORADO - JULY 15: Starting pitcher Jose Quintana #62 of the Pittsburgh Pirates throws against the Colorado Rockies in the first inning at Coors Field on July 15, 2022 in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty Images)
DENVER, COLORADO - JULY 15: Starting pitcher Jose Quintana #62 of the Pittsburgh Pirates throws against the Colorado Rockies in the first inning at Coors Field on July 15, 2022 in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty Images)
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The St. Louis Cardinals are looking to bolster their starting pitching at this year’s trade deadline, and although some bigger names have caught their eye, there is one under-the-radar name within their division that could make a lot of sense for the Cardinals.

The Pittsburgh Pirates’ Jose Quintana.

Quintana, who is on his fifth major league club, is seeing a career resurgence for the Pirates this season, coming in with a 3.50 ERA in 103 innings of work so far this season. Most Cardinals fans know Quintana from his time with the Cubs, as he never quite panned out for the North Side and had an ERA of 4.24 during his time there.

While Quintana is not an exciting name, he is a quality starter, one that would immediately bolster the St. Louis rotation and relieve so much of the pressure from the team. This is not to say that Quintana should be the biggest or only name St. Louis grabs, but he does make a lot of sense.

The Cardinals starters have a combined ERA of 4.04 on the season, making Quintana already a huge boost over the average outing St. Louis has received. Add on the ability to play on a contender, pitch in a pitcher friendly stadium, and in front of one of the best defenses in the game, and Quintana could see his numbers improve even more in the second half.

HIs success against Cardinals rivals, particular the Milwaukee Brewers, and the price point on Quintana are more motivating factors as well that will be covered in the next slides.

MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN – JULY 10: Jose Quintana #62 of the Pittsburgh Pirates throws a pitch during the game against the Milwaukee Brewers at American Family Field on July 10, 2022 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. (Photo by John Fisher/Getty Images)
MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN – JULY 10: Jose Quintana #62 of the Pittsburgh Pirates throws a pitch during the game against the Milwaukee Brewers at American Family Field on July 10, 2022 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. (Photo by John Fisher/Getty Images) /

Quintana dominates the Brewers and other NL rivals

If the Cardinals want to win their division, they will need to rack up on wins against their division rivals, including the Brewers, who are currently in first place. Acquiring Quintana would go a long way toward that, as he has found immense success against their division rivals in his career.

Here is Quintana’s career ERA and the club’s games remaining against each NL Central opponent:

Brewers – 2.95 ERA (7 G)

Cubs – 3.40 ERA (11 G)

Reds – 3.41 ERA (8 G)

Pirates – 3.64 ERA (9 G)

If Quintana can continue his success against NL Central opponents down the stretch, St. Louis could rack up wins in the months of August and September against their rebuilding foes as well as their direct competition for the NL Central crown.

Quintana has struggled in his career against some of the other NL powerhouses, but it is worth noting the team his has pitched the best against in his career is the Dodgers, where he has an 2.02 ERA in 11 starts against the club, which could be huge for St. Louis come playoff time.

DENVER, COLORADO – JULY 15: Starting pitcher Jose Quintana #62 of the Pittsburgh Pirates throws against the Colorado Rockies in the fourth inning at Coors Field on July 15, 2022 in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty Images)
DENVER, COLORADO – JULY 15: Starting pitcher Jose Quintana #62 of the Pittsburgh Pirates throws against the Colorado Rockies in the fourth inning at Coors Field on July 15, 2022 in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty Images) /

Quintana won’t require trading top prospects

If the Luis Castillo trade has taught us anything, front line pitching is going to cost a premium at this year’s trade deadline. MLB Pipeline tweeted out the package, and it’s a steep cost.

For comparison, if the Cardinals made that same trade, it would have likely cost them Matthew Liberatore, Maysn Winn, Michael McGreevy, and Jonathan Mejia, which most fans would probably spit their water out just looking at that potential package.

Frankie Montas and Pablo Lopez will likely require similar packages, and if that means parting with multiple of St. Louis’ top prospects, I am not sure it is worth the deals. Pitchers like Noah Syndergaard and Zach Plesac would be more affordable for sure, so St. Louis could surely play in those waters.

Quintana, on the other hand, at best would require one of the Cardinals’ better, but not best prospects. Alec Burleson could be in play here, but even that is probably more than the Pirates could ask in return for a guy like Quintana. I think a two prospect package, with a safer prospect and a high risk, high reward guy from the lower end of the Cardinals’ top 30 prospects could get the deal done.

Hot. Final predictions for Cardinals' trade deadline moves. light

So, if St. Louis wants quality pitching and to retain their best prospects, a guy like Quintana would be a huge get. But if you’re expecting bigger names to be added to the rotation, be ready to lose some of your favorite prospects.

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