It’s not all of you, it’s probably not the majority, I hope it’s not the majority, but I saw far too much bitching about the Chicago Cubs trading for Jose Quintana on Thursday. I don’t know what the hell is wrong with these people, but enough is enough. Jose Quintana is pretty damn good, so good in fact that he’s been as good as Jon Lester for the last 4.5 years and I know for a fact most Cubs fans adore Jon Lester, so stop with the mindless bitching about Quintana.
Oh, but the Cubs gave up way too much for him. FALSE. The Cubs gave up what it costs to get a good starting pitcher who is only going to be owed less than $35 million over the next 3.5 years.
Does it suck giving up Eloy Jimenez and Dylan Cease? Yes, but it’s also fucking unbelievable that the Cubs got another version of Jon Lester, just a lot more affordable who is right in his prime.
Jose Quintana hasn’t just been durable and consistent since his first season in 2013, he’s been as valuable as Lester since then too. I’m not saying Quintana is a bonafide ace but some people are acting like he’s some 3-4 starter.
No. 3 starter? Jose Quintana? Huh? Doesn’t matter what source you look at. FanGraphs, Baseball-Reference.
Another thing. I’ve seen people bring up his 4.49 ERA this year and automatically assume Quintana is just destined to be terrible forever now. It’s amazing that fans will judge a trade off 18 starts and just throw four years of being good in the trash. That’s like saying, “well the Cubs are 43-45, they’re an average team at best, they have no chance at being good again,” and completely ignoring that most of this roster was part of winning 200 games in the previous two seasons, a Wild Card Game, two NLDS, one NLCS and the goddamn World Series LAST FUCKING YEAR!
All right, we’ve established that Jose Quintana is in fact good, but you know what’s even better? Not only is he good, he has one of the best team-friendly contracts in baseball.
A quick reminder that John Lackey signed a two-year deal with the Cubs worth $32 million. Quintana makes less than that over the next three seasons during his PRIME YEARS! Do you realize how much more flexible the Cubs are now because they have another cost-controlled starting pitcher? Quintana, Kyle Hendricks and Mike Montgomery are all going to be in the rotation next year and Jon Lester will be the only other starter making big money. Having Quintana allows the Cubs to go after another good pitcher in free agency if they want, instead of scrambling to get two starters because Jake Arrieta and John Lackey are most likely (Lackey definitely) gone after this year. Or how about trying to re-sign Wade Davis? Hey look, there’s big chunk of cash for him now.
I just don’t get it. Do you hate the White Sox so much that you don’t understand how good of a trade this was for both sides? Have you never seen Jose Quintana pitch?
Again, I do understand that (at least for me) trading Jimenez stung, but guess what, he’s only 20-years-old and hasn’t played above Single-A yet. As much as I think he’s going to be a stud, he could end up being Jorge Soler. Again, this isn’t knocking him, but what did you think the Cubs were giving up for a No. 2 starter? Jimenez could also be great, but guess what, Jose Quintana can also be great for the Cubs right now.
I can’t explain the trade any better than Cubs play-by-play man Len Kasper.
Another thing. It’s not Jose Quintana’s fault that he hasn’t pitched in meaningful games before. I don’t know why fans would use the argument of, “he can’t be elite because he hasn’t pitched in the postseason.” Shit, I guess Chris Sale isn’t elite either because last time I checked he has zero starts in the playoffs. Pure stupidity from some Cubs fans.
Finally, if you bring up Jose Quintana’s win-loss record, close this page, exit your browser and whatever device you’re using, throw it in the garbage and never comment about baseball ever in your life again.
(Photo via reddit)
