Chicago Cubs: Jose Quintana still has more to prove

With his first full season on the North Side in the books, Chicago Cubs left-hander Jose Quintana showed he’s still a wild card on the mound.

In a rare trade between crosstown rivals, the Chicago Cubs acquired Jose Quintana from the Chicago White Sox in 2017 to add depth to the starting rotation.  While bringing a desirable, controlled contract with him, the move cost the Cubs organization a pair of elite prospects in Eloy Jimenez and Dylan Cease.

After a year where the team saw the departure of promising infielder Gleyber Torres that brought Aroldis Chapman to the eventual 2016 World Series champions (that still feels good to say), the Quintana deal all but depleted the Cubs farm system for the time being – putting them in a precarious situation.

Time will tell to see who the victor was in the trade but Quintana has drawn the ire and criticisms throughout Wrigleyville during his brief tenure due to the price paid in order to acquire the starting pitcher.

Did we give up too much for him?

As of now, the short answer is ‘no’.  Without the benefit of a crystal ball, Quintana is safe from any real scrutiny and premature comparisons to any ill-advised cataclysmic deals à la Lou Brock.

However, that window of any sanctuary is rapidly closing as Jimenez and Cease are all but primed to make a splash in the Majors next season.

Chicago Cubs: Unimpressive innings per start plagued Quintana

Quintana hasn’t been bad, by any means, but he also hasn’t been good either.  After an impressive Cubs debut in 2017 against the Baltimore Orioles where he struck out 12 batters and only surrendered three hits, the spark of that performance has faded and seemed to have become a distant memory as his lack of consistency has haunted his short time as a Cub.

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He has been unable to show that he can remain consistent for long stretches and always seems to be up-and-down in every other performance.  His inconsistency is a chip on his shoulder that he must rid himself of in order to have fans truly accept and agree with the price of that crosstown deal.

While inconsistent, his reliability is something that has been commendable.  In a season that was ridden with injuries, Quintana remained a constant on the field despite battling with a shoulder injury of his own (that chip seems to be weighing heavy).  When Jon Lester trended downward after the All-Star Break, Q posted a 2.92 ERA over 49 1/3 innings.

That stretch saved Quintana’s season in the eyes of many, finally showing a hint of consistency.

However, he needs to pitch near this throughout the course of the entire season if he doesn’t want to be a punchline in what may become a regrettable trade and, more importantly, if the Cubs hope to once again go deep into the postseason.

Quintana’s deepest outing of the year saw him pitch just seven innings – which he accomplished on two separate occasions. This was most likely due to his inability to avoid giving up timely home runs.  The rest of his starts are sprinkled with four, five and six-inning appearances.

He needs to become the guy who can take the mound and control the game deep into the late innings.