Huntington comments on Quintana

[dmetz]

However Quintana would have made our club considerably stronger for the next 3 years.   Barring injury.



There was never a chance we were going to get him though, in my opinion. It's very far outside what this organization does

[IABucFan]

I suppose we'll never REALLY know who was being offered for Quintana, and who the White Sox turned down and wanted instead. But, let's assume the rumors are right, that they wanted Meadows and Glasnow. If that's the case, then I agree with NH. That's too high a cost. Do I want a championship? Absolutely. But, the last five years (kind of six if you count 2011) where we've been in contention late in the year have been fun, a lot of fun. I don't want to go back to the years of losing 100 games. I feel like that's the conundrum...go all out and try to win now, but at the cost of probably being a 100 loss team in a few years, or try to sustain something and settle on being an 85-95 win team, depending on how things break.

[Bobster21]

747C7F485E7B5C533D0 wrote: I suppose we'll never REALLY know who was being offered for Quintana, and who the White Sox turned down and wanted instead.  But, let's assume the rumors are right, that they wanted Meadows and Glasnow.  If that's the case, then I agree with NH.  That's too high a cost.  Do I want a championship?  Absolutely.  But, the last five years (kind of six if you count 2011) where we've been in contention late in the year have been fun, a lot of fun.  I don't want to go back to the years of losing 100 games.  I feel like that's the conundrum...go all out and try to win now, but at the cost of probably being a 100 loss team in a few years, or try to sustain something and settle on being an 85-95 win team, depending on how things break.
I would not have traded Meadows and Glasnow for Quintana. But I don't think trying to win now has to mean 100 losses down the road. They wouldn't have to gut the farm system to add a key player. But they do have to give something to get something. And trading a prospect for a player with several years of control (Quintana has 4 years of control) would not be mortgaging the future. And if trading a prospect creates a hole somewhere down the road, the team has to be willing to act like most other teams and fill a hole externally even if it means an increase to a very low payroll.

[dmetz]

We are going to end up trading Cutch for pitching.  Meadows is knocking on the door. Marte is excellent and cost controlled for years, Polanco the same.



We going to do that while trying to catch a wildcard spot this year in June?  Assuming Cutch rebounds, we trade him this year?   



I think only if July comes and we are on the outside looking in at a Wildcard.   



since call-ups due to injury count service time, doubtful that Meadows is the callup when Marte, Polanco, or Cutch hit the DL, IMO.



I think Cutch stays with the team through the end of the season if we can compete.   If we don't, likely gone at the deadline

[mouse]

Huntington's comments included one saying the White Sox wanted three (3) of the Pirates top five. That's a pretty steep price.

[SCBucco]

52504A4C5A3F0 wrote: Huntington's comments included one saying the White Sox wanted three (3) of the Pirates top five. That's a pretty steep price.


It would be considered a steep price if all three developed into impact MLB players. I rely more on young veteran players who have proven to be impactful instead of hoping prospects develop into impactful players. Not all will. Who knows what Chicago asked for? Fact is, this type of deal isn't in the MO of NH or the Pirates. They would much rather hope prospects develop instead of acquiring an impact arm.

[dogknot17@yahoo.co]

505951404E340 wrote: If you're not going to trade for front end rotation quality, then you have to draft and develop it.   Cole, Taillon and possibly Glasnow after a lot of polish.



Or you can get it by rolling the dice with formerly high end, but currently underperforming pedigree like Burnett, Liriano and to a lesser extent Edison volquez.



The kind of value we got out of Burnett and Liriano is very unusual around baseball.  Two front end rotation starters for multiple years for proverbial peanuts.  Incredible deals.    Not something that's going to happen often.



The list of reclamation project starters who haven't worked out is long as well.  Even Longer if the goal is front-end rotation performance instead of just doing a decent job and performing like a 3, 4, of good 5



Not impossible that Nova could pull an Edison Volquez and pitch like a 2 for a year or two.  So we do have that chance.    Their career paths look similar, though they pitch differently


I don't think it was all luck involved when they traded for Burnett and signed Liriano. The Pirates have been very good in bringing in guys and they pitching well. That is a pattern to me, not all luck. Hopefully, Hutchison will fall in line too. They traded a lot and signed him to some money.



Cole and Taillon could be fixtures for a long time. They were drafted to be top of the rotation pitchers. Glasnow and Keller could be next too.



We need better years from the line up and the Pirates should be in the hunt again. We can't fear the Cubs as much as we are. It is very rare to win back to back 100 games.

[steve49]

2A2F382B7D0C0F4E0 wrote: I think a lot of the issues Huntington is dealing with result from a lack of understanding among fans about how prospects work. It used to be, and some are still hanging on to this viewpoint, that quite a few top prospects ended up busting. This would make it a no-brainer to trade some of them for established players, even if those players were not star-quality.



However, the industry has changed. Compare the busts in BA's top 100 from 1990 - 2010 to the one's since and you'll notice development of the players with the best tools has gotten quite a bit better with technology. Industry-wide, teams are more reluctant to part with home-grown talent. Since the Pirates are already playing cheap, I'm sure they're even worse with this.



Quintana is a #2 starter. He is not a player you put in the rotation and automatically teams fear you. If the rumors of a Glasnow-Meadows asking price is correct, I am glad the Pirates did not pull the trigger.



Meadows is not just any top prospect. He has a combination of power, speed and strike-zone awareness that makes him a high-floor prospect. Glasonw is the type of prospect that has a high chance of busting, so it's no surprise if the White Sox were reluctant to rely on him as the main piece of a deal.




It's even worse than Glasnow and Meadows . Huntington is saying 3 of the top 5 prospects. So that would be most likely Meadows , and 2 out of Newman , Glasnow , Bell and Keller. Utterly insane for a consistent LHP that hits 89-90. Everyone is saying he's worth more than Sale because of his contract. I don't buy that for a minute. Sale is a guy that can dominate in the playoffs and carry you to a WS win. Quintana on the other hand is a consistent No 2 that helps solidify a rotation. This is a deal that would have a very good chance of being a disaster if made.

[Roberto218]

I read that the price was 3 of our top prospects. 3 of Meadows, Glasgow, Bell, Keller or Newman. That means losing 2 potential # 1 starters, and starting CF, 1b, and SS... 3 of them for a 4 years of a 12 starter.

[dmetz]

It makes sense that the sox are asking a ransom and that nobody has paid it. He's signed for the next 4 seasons. They're going to try to compete again before his contract is up.