So let's talk about Quintana shall we

[MikeKreevich]

Quintana was a snake-bit pitcher with the Sox.  He would pitch well and still lose.  I was not sad to see him go and don't want him back.

 

[Kyyle23]

7 minutes ago, MikeKreevich said:

Quintana was a snake-bit pitcher with the Sox.  He would pitch well and still lose.  I was not sad to see him go and don't want him back.

 

You do not want to see him back because he was good but the team sucked so he never got wins?  Strange

[Two-Gun Pete]

On 12/8/2020 at 7:20 AM, bmags said:

That said, I am not that keen on him returning.

Let's get the easy stuff out first:

1. Yes, it is likely he outperforms the extremely bad signing of gio gonzalez.

2. Jose Quintana has pitched 175 innings for most of his career

3. His velocity on the cubs it retreated, now settling in around 91.5 mph on average.

4.- The thing that made Q amazing was his home run suppression.

5.- The cubs have generated more whiffs but I don't know if it made him a better pitcher. Quintana's stuff is not great, his command is. But cubs moved him to the recent trend of high fastballs to take advantage of his curve. 

 

Quote

6. His hard hit rate has increased recently, up to near 40%. 

So he'll give you innings, he won't walk batters. That is still true. But I don't know that this doesn't keep getting worse.

Nice guy though!

I for one don't look at Q returning as nostalgic, TBH. Those SOX teams sucked a horse's ass, and were run by morons.

I look at the bolded as being the crux of the argument. The 2020 SOX took a giant shit down the stretch, in part because there were only 2 reliable SPs. They likewise failed in the playoffs for the same reason. I think what we discovered is that even in the era of massive bullpen use, someone, ANYONE has to get you innings. 

And in the era of 3 true outcomes, I favor a SP with excellent command/control to suppress BB, while I count on Katz to work with him on HR suppression. On balance, because of Q's market value and familiarity with the city and the org, he seems to be an IDEAL acquisition.

 

That said, of the 6 issues you raised, only #s 4 and 6 are material to a control pitcher like Q. In the era of 3 true outcomes, an increasing HRA rate is a concern, as is a rising hard hit rate. At the same time, almost ALL of the issues/concerns you raise about Q could also be applicable to Keuchel. Look at Keuchel's FB velo. Look at Keuchel's hard hit %. Look at both players' ZIPs projections. They're eerily similar, yet people are shitting their pants about Q for some reason.

But, on balance compared to what is already in house (Cease/Kopech/Lopez), Q offers more to a team ready to win NOW. Especially in the BB suppression area. And, at his price tag, he'll allow for further additions at the TDL, & next offseason.

Edited December 12, 2020 by Two-Gun Pete

[poppysox]

For most of the offseason, I thought Q would be the 2nd starting pitcher added.  I now lean toward James Paxton as the best available in that bracket of not Bauer candidates.

[Vulture]

Paxton injury issues are a major concern. Went out with flexor injury season after back surgery. Boras says he’ll be just fine, which to me suggests the opposite

[Soxfest]

Q can stay gone, that ship has sailed.

[hi8is]

On 12/12/2020 at 5:08 AM, MikeKreevich said:

Quintana was a snake-bit pitcher with the Sox.  He would pitch well and still lose.  I was not sad to see him go and don't want him back.

 

Welcome to Soxtalk!