The baseball world was rocked on its heels when the announcement dropped. Top Chicago White Sox pitcher Jose Quintana was heading to the north side to join the Chicago Cubs. In exchange the rebuilding south siders got a bevy of young prospects including Eloy Jimenez, one of the best in the minor leagues right now. If only people knew just how espionage-like the discussions between Rick Hahn and Theo Epstein became.
According to CBS Chicago, the White Sox GM got in contact with the Cubs president at the All-Star game. Further proof that there is no set time or place to discuss a blockbuster deal that could alter the short and long-term futures of two franchises. Where it gets crazy is the lengths Hahn apparently went to so nobody would catch on to what he was doing.
Rick Hahn and Theo Epstein played the cloak and dagger game
“I get a phone call from Theo and I literally hid behind an exhibit at a fan fest to talk to Theo about the specifics of the deal.”
“I essentially had to ditch my child at the Miami Convention Center,” Hahn added in an interview on 670 The Score.
The call was important.
“At that point, he expressed a willingness to potentially include Jimenez and Case,” Hahn said. “We spent the next several hours, including the bulk of the time while I was sitting at the All-Star Game, texting back and forth trying to put together the final two pieces on the back end of this deal. From Sunday morning until the end of Tuesday night, it was a pretty quick turnaround on things. But you’re only able to do that because both sides, the White Sox and the Cubs, have spent all that time and the scouts and analysts and the front office have spent that amount of time preparing to move quickly this time of year. We had that level of comfort in terms of who these players are.”
#Cubs today acquired LHP José Quintana from the #WhiteSox for OF Eloy Jimenez, RHP Dylan Cease, and INFs Matt Rose and Bryant Flete. pic.twitter.com/R8E9u9anls
— Chicago Cubs (@Cubs) July 13, 2017
A mutually beneficial venture
In essence it was a great deal for all involved. Quintana gives the Cubs a badly-needed young arm they can control for the next few years. He bolsters a rotation that has struggled due to age with three of their top guys over 30-years old. Quintana is 28. It’s also good for him because he joins the defending World Series champions. He finally has a chance to do some serious winning and gets to stay in Chicago.
For the White Sox it was a no brainer. They’re a rebuilding team. This deal gets them a top 10 minor league prospect in Jimenez and another top 100 in Cease. Suddenly their farm system went from barren to absolutely stacked in the space of just over a year.
White Sox top prospects:
1 – Moncada
8 – Jimenez
11 – Kopech
23 – Robert
28 – Giolito
59 – Fulmer
63 – Cease
68 – CollinsThey are loaded.
— Chris Emma (@CEmma670) July 13, 2017
If things play out as hoped, the idea of an all-Chicago World Series is something fans can seriously start thinking about.
