Patrick Zeng
@Roundtripper891
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| : River Ave Blues |
Normally this time of year is completely lifeless in the world of sports. With Major League Baseball on its All Star break, NBA and NHL free agency's having already reached their climax and NFL training camps a few weeks away, this time can be absolutely brutal. But luckily the two teams from the Windy City decided to break some very important news late this morning. Jose Quintana was traded from the White Sox to the Cubs as Theo Epstein looks to save the Cubs from their incredibly disappointing season.
The Cubs have been without a doubt the most disappointing team in baseball this season. Stumbling into the All Star break at 43-45, 5.5 games behind the Brewers is nothing short of shocking for the north siders. Coming off of their curse shattering championship run last season, talks were only focused around how dominant of a dynasty they could be. The struggles that they have had this year were not even remotely discussed. They need something to help spark this team, and this is Theo going for it.
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| :Boston Globe |
Jose Quintana is not a Chris Sale type. He is not a dominant number one pitcher that has the ability to completely dominate a game. But he's good, he's solid and he's has been consistent. The Cubs pitching hasn't been horrible. A 4.10 ERA clocks them in at 9th in the league, a 1.30 WHIP gives them the 10th spot and a .242 batting average ranks 6th in the MLB. Their struggles have mostly come offensively, but with so many high priced and high value players being in that lineup, a move there would prove much more difficult.
As previously stated, Quintana has not been great this year. He has pitched to a 4.49 ERA but his FIP(What his true ERA should be after adjustments is 4.01). In his career he has pitched to a 3.51 ERA. Quintana adds constistency to this team, especially in the form of health and innings. Quintana has hit 200 innings pitched and over 30 starts every season for the past four years. That is huge for a pitching staff to know that they have someone that they can count on to make his scheduled starts. Quintana is also under contract until 2020 which is perfect for the Cubs with Jake Arrieta's future in doubt with his pending free agency. Quintana's switch to the north side should also be a big boost to him. The Cubs defense anchored by Kris Bryant, Javy Baez, Anthony Rizzo and Jayson Heyward should help keep runs off the board that scored against him at US Cellular.
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| :Scout.com |
From the White Sox perspective, it is the perfect move for a rebuilding franchise. After dumping Sale for a huge bounty over the winter as well as dealing Adam Eaton to the Nationals, they were further able to build up their once depleted farm system into one of the top ones in all of baseball. They acquired Eloy Jimenez, the top position player prospect in the Cubs system and a consensus top ten prospect in all of Major League Baseball. They also added a solid pitching prospect in Dylan Cease, giving themselves another strong young arm after the acquisition of Lucas Giolito over the winter.
It looks like a win-win for both teams in Chicago as the Cubs were able to add stability to try as well as a new face to try and spark their team, while the White Sox continued to further their rebuilding process by adding more solid prospects. The winds of change charging through the windy city might be just what both teams need to get to where they want to be.
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