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| José Quintana (Getty Images) |
Red Sox President and CEO
Larry Lucchino appeared today on
WEEI's Dennis & Callahan Morning Show and made an interesting point. Rejecting the false choice of the Sox being
either "buyers" or "sellers" at the trade deadline, he suggested a
third way. Said Lucchino,
"I am one to believe that there is a third alternative and that is you don’t have to be a major seller or a major buyer. You can be someone who goes out and does something to help your team not just this year, but in future years." Since we believe Boston's biggest need is in the starting rotation, our "low-key trade" target would be 26-year old White Sox starter
José Quintana.
WHO????, you might ask. Hold on. Quintana—
a southpaw—has been an "under-the-radar" arm in the Windy City since 2012. He's thrown 200+ innings in
both of the last two seasons, and sports a career ERA of 3.54. He's also given up fewer hits than innings pitched over his four seasons in the majors. His best season was probably 2014—when he went
9-11 with a 3.32 ERA and 178 strikeouts. It's important to keep in mind that he's pitched this well on a
really bad string of White Sox teams. In exchange for Quintana, we'd probably have to give up
Blake Swihart—who could add a needed offensive punch to the
Pale Hose lineup and be a fixture behind the plate on the South Side for years. The Red Sox would still have
Christian Vazquez—who many pundits think is a better overall prospect than Swihart. So, look for a less-than-earth-shattering deal come July 31st—something like this one.
