The Braves have been tied to Jose Quintana for it seems like a lifetime. Even despite the team’s rebuilding efforts, the White Sox have elected to hold on to the southpaw, at least for now. After all, they still control Quintana’s fate. He can be retained through 2020 by the team at a fairly reasonable rate. For this very reason, he is an attractive target for the Braves. On top of that, Jaime Garcia is the only lefty on the roster and is an upcoming free agent.
The Braves have, without a doubt, what it takes to get this deal done. They have a very deep farm system. Obviously, if the requested return includes a Chris Sale-esque haul then it’s no deal. However, it is clear that the White Sox are trying to rebuild, and Atlanta has assets that will be very attractive to them. Quintana has had a slow start through the first quarter of the season. This, along with Freddie Freeman’s injury, are reasons why if the team plans to make a move for him, the time is now.
The team probably will not give up assets to address Freddie Freeman’s absence. However, even without Freeman this lineup can still put up runs. It is the starting pitching that will lose Atlanta games, and with the addition with the likes of a guy like Quintana, that boost at pitching could offset the catastrophic loss for Atlanta. This is not a plea for a Quintana trade that would strip the farm. But if Atlanta was planning on trading for an ace type pitcher at the deadline, and you cannot rule anything out with Coppy, they may as well do it now.
Even though the Braves have a plethora of young arms, and Lucas Sims and Sean Newcomb are knocking on the door of the big leagues, Jaime Garcia, Bartolo Colon and R.A. Dickey are all on short term contracts and have just been average. Julio Teheran has not been able to get comfortable pitching in SunTrust Park. If the Braves really want some consistency atop their rotation, Quintana could be the perfect fit.