Report: Jose Quintana Traded to Cardinals; Pirates Get Johan Oviedo, More

It isn't Juan Soto, but the St. Louis Cardinals are reportedly adding a notable piece to their roster Monday ahead of Tuesday's trade deadline.

St. Louis acquired left-hander Jose Quintana and reliever Chris Stratton from the Pittsburgh Pirates for right-hander Johan Oviedo and infielder Malcom Nunez, according to Rob Biertempfel of The Athletic.

ESPN's Jeff Passan first reported a deal was close.

Such a move would keep the southpaw within the National League Central and give St. Louis some starting pitching depth ahead of the stretch run.

While Jim Bowden of CBS Sports reported the Cardinals, Los Angeles Dodgers and San Diego Padres "all improved their offers" in the effort to land Soto from the Washington Nationals, acquiring Quintana addresses an area of need.

After all, Jack Flaherty hasn't pitched since June 26, and Steven Matz is out with a knee injury.

That will make catching the Milwaukee Brewers in the National League Central all the more difficult, even if the division leaders traded closer Josh Hader to the Padres on Monday. Milwaukee is three games ahead of the Cardinals.

Quintana, who was an All-Star in 2016 as a member of the Chicago White Sox, at least provides some much-needed starting pitching depth as St. Louis attempts to make up that deficit.

He has a 3.50 ERA, 1.27 WHIP and 89 strikeouts in 103.0 innings this season, which is a drastic improvement from the 6.43 ERA he posted last year for the Los Angeles Angels and San Francisco Giants.

The veteran has pitched for the White Sox, Chicago Cubs, Los Angeles Angels, Giants and Pirates in his career and seemed to be well on his way to stardom when he finished his first five seasons with a post-4.00 ERA.

Yet he has not finished a season with an ERA below 4.00 since he was an All-Star in 2016.

Quintana seems to be back on track this season, and the Cardinals hope that continues after this move.