The Famously Sneaky Brewers Should Snag Jose Quintana

The trade deadline being weeks away feels like a moot point when you have someone as savvy as David Stearns at the helm of your team. By this time last year Willy Adames was nearly a month into his tenure as a Brewer, and with more teams pushing into meaningful contention with an expanded playoffs, it feels more urgent than ever for the Brewers, or any team for that matter, to build to their actualization as quickly as possible.

A few splashy exceptions aside, Milwaukee’s modus operandi in trades so far is to avoid the sexy move and go for players they believe they can tweak into superstars once they are locked into Brewers uniforms. This year’s version of Jose Quintana feels just like that kind of player.

The Bucs latest reclamation project has ranged from serviceable to excellent, but what reflects most optimistically on Quintana’s trajectory is the contrast between the last two years and what he’s producing now. Last year the veteran left-hander was pushing a 5.00 ER and the year prior he split a 6.43 ERA between two teams. At 33 years old, it seemed not unlikely that the former all-star was washed. The small-budget Bucs have been awarded for their faith and their one-year, $2M contract with a solid veteran presence on the bump.

The Brewers are known as a run prevention team, so while pitching may not be the most obvious need for the Crew, the carousel of green arms hopping back and forth from the minors indicates a lack of reliable depth. Quintana’s presence wouldn’t necessitate a spot in the rotation, but it could be if one if a starter goes down. If not, the bullpen looks like it would benefit from another long relief arm, so the onus doesn’t fall exclusively to Suter.

Alternatively Quintana’s effective season is largely thanks to him enjoying the lowest exit velocity off of opposing bats of his career, and his incredible chase rate. This makes him a stellar candidate to bring out in a high leverage situation mid-game to keep things from going out of control. Lastly, it’s worth mentioning that in his many appearances in Milwaukee, Quintana has been absolutely vicious against Milwaukee, where even including his flagging seasons he has been largely dominant.

Best case scenario, Quintana could be Drew Pomeranz: a low-cost get for a team famous for developing arms, tweaking mechanics and polishing players into elite level players. Worst case scenario is less favorable, but his cost is still low and signed only through the rest of the season.