Woke up to this news on my phone. A tweet from Buster Olney said the Pirates were working hard with the White Sox to acquire starting pitcher Jose Quintana.

This would be awesome and I would be more than happy to hand over some key guys from the farm for him. The White Sox have shown they’re in 100% rebuilding overhaul this offseason after giving up Chris Sale and Adam Eaton to solidify their prospect needs for the future.

Quintana fits perfectly in Pittsburgh. He is a lefty that has thrown at least 200 innings every season since 2013. Pittsburgh NEEDS a guy like this. Imagine starting a rotation with Cole – Quintana – Taillon – Kuhl. That alone becomes one of the best in the National League instantly.

Quintana comes with a contract that would keep him in Pittsburgh for 4 seasons. Beautiful. That front end of Cole – Quintana – Taillon would be around through at least 2019 when Cole hits free agency.

He has a team friendly contract that screams Pittsburgh Pirates as well. He is due $7 million in 2017, $8.85 million in 2018, $10.5 million and 2019, and a club option at $10.5 million in 2020.

Pittsburgh could easily make this trade and still make a signing for the final starter spot with Ivan Nova. That would be great. Cole – Quintana – Taillon – Nova – Kuhl. I’ll take that over the young guns any day.

This will cost the Pirates, and that is completely okay. The White Sox want young talent. Everyone does. Pittsburgh has plenty. Not all of it will pan out, so take a chance and give up some guys for a proven All Star.

Only guys I deem untouchable are Austin Meadows and Josh Bell. You have to think the deal starts with Tyler Glasnow. The talent is insane, but work is needed. The Pirates could include another emerging name, Mitch Keller (who really blossomed in A-Ball in 2016) if the Sox wanted more pitching in the deal. They have depth at short stop in the minors with Cole Tucker and Kevin Newman, the 2014 and 2015 1st round picks for the Bucs. Elias Diaz could be another name in there. He is one of the best all around minor league catchers, but Pittsburgh has no place for him with the recent Cervelli extension.

It can be done, and it should be done. This could be one of the biggest/best moves Neil Huntington makes as Pirates GM. I’ve said before that you need to go all-in eventually instead of building to be constantly good for years at a time. This could be massive. Make it happen Neil. I’d love to see the year Quintana could put together with an offense that provides run support.