The San Diego Padres dealt two pitching prospects to the Chicago White Sox this offseason for underperforming slugger Carlos Quentin. Part of the reason why he hasn’t had a season anywhere near his 2008 campaign is due to injuries, which falls under the “underachieving” category. His latest setback was a knee injury, but progress has been made.
Quentin went 2-3 with a three-run shot in his first rehab game with AAA Tucson. This was his first game back from knee surgery, so the subpar defensive corner outfielder spent the game DH’ing. Expect the team to ease him into an outfield role at Tucson, and he will be back on the MLB squad after he spends a handful of games in OF. Quentin will most likely come off the DL in a week-and-a-half to two weeks.
After a terrible 2010 season, Carlos Quentin bounced back last season to the tune of a 125 wRC+, better-than-black-hole defense, and a total value of 2.6 WAR. His walk rate decreased while his strikeout rate increased, but it’s better than being a replacement-value player in 2010. He had a solid 118 wRC+ that year, but it was his -24.3 UZR (-14.5 the previous year) that killed his value.
Most projections have him as a 2 WAR player (league-average), and the Padres will definitely welcome Quentin’s 20-25 homers; he is arguably their top power bat.
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