Report: Ex-Cubs SP Jose Quintana, Angels Agree to Contract

The Chicago Cubs mortgaged some of their future in 2017 when they traded four players, including the highly regarded Eloy Jimenez and Dylan Cease, to the crosstown White Sox for Jose Quintana with the hopes he would stabilize the rotation as they chased more World Series titles.

After three-plus seasons of solid but unspectacular performances and zero World Series crowns, his time with the North Siders is over.

Quintana and the Los Angeles Angels have agreed to terms, pending a physical, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reported Tuesday. Joel Sherman of the New York Post added that it was a one-year deal worth $8 million.

The Angels, who boasted 10 different starters throughout the pandemic-shortened 2020 season, needed some serious help on the hill after their rotation posted a collective 5.52 ERA, ranking second-worst in the league.

The southpaw is not that far removed from his 2016 All-Star season on the White Sox when he posted a 3.20 ERA, 1.16 WHIP and 181 strikeouts in 208 innings, but there are also some concerns following this deal.

Quintana made just one start during the shortened 2020 campaign as he dealt with injury concerns, and he posted career-worst marks of 4.68 ERA and 1.39 WHIP during the 2019 season. He will also be 32 years old throughout the 2021 season and could well be past his prime.

Still, the chance that the Colombian could return to the form he displayed during his time on the White Sox surely convinced the Angels to sign him.

From 2012 until the White Sox traded him during the 2017 season, the lefty had a 3.51 ERA overall and finished with a sub-4.00 ERA in each of his five full years for the South Siders. He showed top-of-the-rotation stuff even if he was never as productive during his time on the Cubs.

There are injury concerns and fair questions about whether he will ever reach the potential he showed early in his career, but Quintana has the ability to be a key part of his new team's rotation as it chases a playoff berth in 2021.