Chicago Cubs: Slow and steady for Jose Quintana gets wins

When the Chicago Cubs acquired Jose Quintana from the White Sox, at the time they needed a mid-tier starter. He hasn’t ‘wowed’ us, by any means. But he goes about his job methodically.

Every fifth day, the Chicago Cubs Jose Quintana takes the ball. In his rookie year of 2012 with the White Sox, he started 25 games. In 2013, he started 33. Every year since he’s made 32 starts, and he’s on pace for at least that many this year. At times, he can fluster fans. Other times, he can be spectacular. But recently, he’s just putting up the ‘W’s,’ and we should all be alright with that.

From June 29 to August 2, he’s gone 5-0 in six starts. The other start he should have gotten the win, but Joe Maddon took him out with just 4 2/3 innings. The Cubs ended up winning that game 11-4. And if you look at his numbers over that stretch, they look..well, quite pedestrian.

In 34 2/3 innings, he’s allowed 16 runs on 37 hits with a 4.15 ERA. His SO/W rate is 4.83, much higher than his career 3.06. And he’s allowed a slash line of .280/.301/.439 with a .740 OPS. Even his BAbip is high at .317. But yet, he wins games. How has he done this? Remember how I started this piece? He takes the ball every fifth day.

There’s something to be said about continuity in baseball. When a pitcher takes the ball every fifth day, the players generally know what to expect. If it’s a spot starter? Maybe not so much. So while he hasn’t pitched ‘light’s out,’ he’s given them a constant presence on the mound that they’ve learned to trust.

Look, much will be made of what the Chicago Cubs gave up for Quintana. But look at it this way. Eloy Jimenez has shown off some power, but he’s had some injuries, and he’s currently at a -0.4 WAR. And Dylan Cease, who I hated to let go of more than Jimenez? He’s just 1-4 with a 6.43 ERA and a -0.2 WAR. And Quintana? In his three seasons with the Cubs, he’s totaled a 4.8 WAR.

Cease and Jimenez are bound to get better, right? Beats me. That’s what you take the chance of when you trade a proven commodity in Quintana for prospects. Good ones, but they are still prospects. Most fans seem to think the White Sox ‘pulled one over on us.’ I don’t.

This is the difficulty of the trade deadline for general managers. If you’re a buyer, you’re going to have to part with prospects. Occasionally, you need them to work out, or other GM’s will stop trading with you. But it’s the South Side. If we didn’t swap another player, I wouldn’t be mad.