Washington Nationals, Boston Red Sox Showing Unforeseen Interest in Jose Quintana
By Keaton Moore
Despite his rough start to the season, the Boston Red Sox and Washington Nationals are keeping an eye on Jose Quintana.
While the Chicago White Sox continue the fall further down the ranks of the AL Central, the value of their ace, Jose Quintana, remains highs, regardless of his slow start to the season. The Boston Red Sox and Washington Nationals have the pieces and recent trade history with Chicago that could make this summer very interesting.
Following his loss on Opening Day, Quintana started the season on a four-game losing streak. Since then, his record has only risen to 2-5 through eight starts. He managed to bring his ERA down from 10.12 on Opening Day to 4.38 after holding the
to three runs through seven innings on
.
Whether it is his gradually improving season or his team-friendly contract of $38 million through 2020, the Washington Nationals and Boston Red Sox are surprisingly interested in the southpaw,
.
Switching Sox
It seems strange that the Red Sox, who traded for Chris Sale during the offseason, are on the hunt for another starting pitcher. Yet, when you look at the condition of the rotation behind Sale, going after Quintana doesn’t seem so crazy.
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While Sale leads baseball with 85 strikeouts, the rest of the rotation is 7-12 with an overall 5.08 ERA.
Coming off his Cy Young season in 2016, Rick Porcello owns a 2-5 record with a 4.01 ERA. Likewise, before he opted for season-ending knee surgery, Steven Wright was 1-3 with a rotation-worst 8.25 ERA.
Seemingly the only starting pitcher who is putting up strong numbers aside from Sale is Eduardo Rodriguez, whose success is properly seen in his 2.80 ERA rather than his 1-1 record.
Even though David Price is nearing his return from the disabled list, he is a question mark that will not be answered until he makes his first start of the season. There is no telling how Price will rebound from his elbow injury, but in the meantime Quintana might be the solution to Boston’s unforeseen rotation woes.
National Interest
Even more surprising than the Red Sox’s interest in Quintana after landing Sale is the Nationals’ interest in the southpaw. Over 30 games into the regular season and Washington’s rotation is looking as strong as ever.
The impressive starts of Max Scherzer (4-2, 2.80 ERA) and Gio Gonzalez (3-1, 2.47 ERA) are leading the rotation to a phenomenal 14-5 record. Rounding out the rotation, Stephen Strasburg and Tanner Roark both own 3-1 records, the former with a 3.28 ERA and the latter a 3.88 ERA.
Granted, their 4.80 rotation ERA is supported by the most productive offense in the major leagues. Yet, Washington’s rotation is not hole they need to be patching.
Instead, their focus should be targeted on White Sox closer David Robertson in order to improve their bullpen, which is one of the worst in baseball. Although the Nationals relievers are 9-7, their 5.33 ERA is only better than the Padres’ (5.44) and Detroit Tigers’ (5.60) bullpens.
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Meanwhile, Robertson owns a 2.13 ERA and 20 strikeouts through 12.2 innings on top of being 5/6 in save opportunities. His numbers are not flashy, but his consistency in the ninth inning is something the Nationals desperately lack.