Gauging Potential Pittsburgh Pirates Prospects in a Possible Quintana Trade

The Pittsburgh Pirates are “working hard” to land Chicago White Sox LHP Jose Quintana. If a deal is to be made, what prospects could be dealt?

ESPN’s Buster Olney reported this morning that the Pittsburgh Pirates are “working hard” to acquire left-handed starting pitcher Jose Quintana from the Chicago White Sox.

Even the news of a potential trade involving a frontline starting pitcher such as Quintana was well received by Pirates fans, and immediately many started crafting possible trade packages that could land the 27 year-old starter. The White Sox are clearly in rebuilding mode, so the return they will be seeking for Quintana will likely be very prospect-heavy.

For more on Quintana’s credentials, please click here to read our trade target profile from back in November. In this post, we will organize some of the Pittsburgh Pirates prospects that could be included in a potential deal.

Use History As Your Guide

First, a bit of history from last year’s trade deadline may help inform us as to what the Pirates may give up for a controllable, young, proven starter.

During that time, the Pirates and Tampa Bay Rays were discussing potential deals for Matt Moore, Jake Odorizzi or Drew Smyly. During those talks, discussion briefly turned to Chris Archer. Archer is very similar to Quintana in that he has multiple years of control – in this case, five as opposed to Quintana’s four. Pittsburgh flatly turned down a potential deal that would have sent Kevin Newman, Josh Bell and Steven Brault to Tampa Bay.

Using those rough guidelines, let’s group some potential Pittsburgh Pirates trade pieces by how willing the Pirates may be to give them up.

Forget About It

• OF Austin Meadows

The list of untouchable Pirates prospects likely begins and ends with Austin Meadows. He is as close to a can’t-miss prospect as there is in baseball, and the team’s ever-evolving approach to Andrew McCutchen only amplifies his importance. He will be heard from in 2017, and the fact that he is so close to the majors is also a undeniable factor.

Pirates Would Think Long and Hard

• 1B/OF Josh Bell
• SP Tyler Glasnow
• INF Kevin Newman
• SP Mitch Keller

Our next tier has some highly regarded names. Bell and Glasnow have both been bandied about for a few years now as “the next wave” of talent that will extend the Pittsburgh Pirates’ window.

We saw what Bell could do in the majors in his too-brief time with the big club last season. To show the amount of patience at the plate that he did during his first lap through the bigs says a lot about his chances to realize potential. On the other hand, Glasnow’s performance showed that his timetable is a fluid one. If we were writing this post at this time last year, there is a very good chance he would be in our first tier.

The organization is clearly very high on Newman. He was promoted quickly to Double-A, and there is no reason to assume that he won’t spend the majority of his 2017 at Indianapolis. Keller’s rapid rise through the system has been exciting for fans and the organization alike, and his jump to the ranking of fifth-overall Pirates prospect by MLB Pipeline speaks volume to his development.

All of this is presented as reasons why the Pirates would be reluctant to part with one of these players. But, it is very clear that if a deal is to be done, then it would require at least one of these to be included, and possibly two.

Of these four, I believe that Glasnow could be the one the Pittsburgh Pirates may be most willing to part with. That may seem crazy on the surface, but it becomes a philosophical debate, and one that I poised to our twitter followers. Would you trade six controllable years of possible top-of-the-rotation performance from Glasnow for four years of proven major-league ability in Quintana?

Would you trade six years of possible Performance from Glasnow for four years of a proven SP in Quintana?

— Jason Rollison (@jrollisonpgh) December 21, 2016

I would also not be surprised if the Pirates included Bell in a package. Bell’s trade value may never be higher than it is at this very moment. He showed the potential at the plate that justified his historic signing bonus, without the pratfalls of going through his first significant major-league slump. Going back to Meadows’ value, the Pirates may cut bait with Bell as an outfield of Meadows/Starling Marte/Gregory Polanco could easily be put in place, with the club looking elsewhere for first base help.

Would a package centered around just one of these be enough? It is hard to tell at this point, but as we saw last year, the Pittsburgh Pirates would be very hesitant to give up two of this group.

Sure, You Can Have One Of These

Our next tier includes a group of prospects that can certainly be thrown in to a potential deal as window-dressing, but not the main course. We’ll hit these with quick thoughts.

• 3B Ke’Bryan Hayes – often thought to be a top-flight prospect at a position that is hard to develop, Hayes’ injury history may have given the Pirates pause…
• 3B Will Craig – …plus, the Pirates have Will Craig, who showed well in the second half of his first pro season. If the Pirates aren’t sold on Hayes, Craig is a nice fallback.
• SP Steven Brault – Though Brault was unimpressive at times, if the White Sox are looking for a major-league ready left-hander to take some innings in the place of Quintana, Brault makes a nice throw-in.
• SP Nick Kingham – The medical reports on Kingham are encouraging, but the Pirates might reduce risk by removing him from future plans.
• RP Trevor Williams – Williams had a bit of a rough go at things in 12.2 innings last season, but is major-league capable reliever.
• SP Brandon Waddell – Waddell is a left-handed starter who showed flashes at Altoona in 2016. If the White Sox would like a left-hander in return, Waddell could be a throw-in.
• INF Alen Hanson/OF Willy Garcia/1B-OF Jose Osuna – if the White Sox require some major-league ready bench or utility pieces, any of these three might work, though the Pittsburgh Pirates may want to hold on to Osuna as a stopgap at first base if Bell is dealt.

Undoubtedly, there will be many different permutations of prospects and pieces that may get a deal between the Pittsburgh Pirates and Chicago White Sox done. This list aims to serve as a guide to what such a package might look like.