Chicago Cubs: These moves prevented team from adding Bryce Harper

Chicago Cubs: The Dylan Cease effect

The Cubs sent outfielder Eloy Jiménez and pitcher Dylan Cease to the White Sox for Quintana. Jiménez is the White Sox No. 1 prospect, while Cease is No. 3, according to MLB.com.

While the Cubs outfield was and continues to be a crowded bunch, the team certainly misses Cease. The 23-year-old is projected to make his MLB debut at some point in 2019.

Coincidentally, the Cubs have yet to develop a starting pitcher who has stuck in the team’s rotation under Theo Epstein. NBC Sports Chicago’s Tony Andracki broke down how this is the team’s Achilles heel and how it’s rearing its ugly head.

Cease was not ready for the big leagues in 2017, but what about Mike Montgomery? Montgomery made 44 appearances in 2017, including 14 starts. His 4.15 ERA as a starting pitcher did not compare to his 2.49 ERA that season in relief.

Montgomery started the season in the Cubs’ bullpen, as left-hander Brett Anderson assumed the team’s No. 5 starter’s job. Anderson posted an 8.18 ERA in six starts for the Cubs; he went on the 10-day disabled list on May 7 and was later released on July 31.

Essentially, the Cubs could (and probably should have) rolled with Montgomery as their fifth starter to open the season. While fatigue was surely a concern, Montgomery proved to be a reliable arm throughout the season.

The Cubs could have opened the 2017 season with a rotation of Jon Lester, Jake Arrieta, Kyle Hendricks, John Lackey and Montgomery. Quintana provided the group with a spark, but what if the Cubs only started the season slow because their offseason was so short?

Perhaps a World Series hangover was inevitable. Maybe they don’t make the playoffs without Quintana, but the team was almost too talented to not figure it out, which they did. Thus, if the Cubs didn’t trade for Quintana, they might never have lost Cease.