In the weeks leading up to the trade deadline, Milwaukee Brewers left-hander Jose Quintana was considered a decent trade candidate were the team to unload pitchers. Instead, barely 24 hours after the 5 PM CT cutoff, he found himself donning his Brew Crew jersey again to take the mound in Washington on Friday, August 1. Having survived a strained home stretch of deadline apprehension, the 36-year-old starter is relieved to still be here.
Quintana celebrates staying with another solid start
The Brewers did move a starting pitcher, but it wasn’t Quintana. In a trade with the Padres that brought back outfielder Brandon Lockridge, Milwaukee sent out fellow lefty Nestor Cortes alongside infield prospect Jorge Quintana – not Jose.
Given that Cortes hardly pitched all season, moving on from him made sense. Yes, flipping Quintana would likely bring back a better return than just Lockridge, or obviate the need to sacrifice a prospect to dump Cortes’ salary. But he’s also been an important piece in the rotation.
Through 16 outings, he is 8-4 with a 3.50 ERA. With plenty of run support yesterday, he pitched around traffic for a solid 5-inning start against the Nationals in Milwaukee’s 16-9 win.
Postgame, he shared what went through his head Thursday awaiting a potential trade update.
“The last day of the deadline was really hard,” Quintana said. “The last two hours you don’t know what’s going to happen, but I wanted to stay. I’m glad to stay here. I want to finish the season here and win.”
Milwaukee Brewers’ belated offseason move has paid dividends
Snapping fans out of a day-long lull, the team indeed pulled off a few last-second deals, acquiring Lockridge plus Diamondbacks reliever Shelby Miller. With Miller out injured, Lockridge is the only immediate contributor among the trade acquisitions (SP Jordan Montgomery, whom Milwaukee agreed to absorb in the Miller deal, is done for the year).
Hitting leadoff in his Brewers debut, Lockridge went 2-6 with a walk, a stolen base, and a run scored.
As for Quintana, the 65-44 Brewers have granted him his wish – a chance to stick around and win some more games. A late free agency addition on a one-year, $4 million deal, he needed time for conditioning but worked his way into the rotation two weeks into the season and rattled off four excellent starts. Since returning from a three-week absence in May, while he hasn’t returned to his April form, he’s been a reliable source of five to six-inning starts.
With the Brewers’ stacked rotation, Quintana may or may not get a chance to start come playoffs. They use him as bullpen depth. A free agent again this offseason, he may not be back next year, but, deadline past, Quintana will remain a member of this team for at least the next couple of months.
He’s next scheduled to toe the rubber August 6 in Atlanta.
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