The Chicago Cubs on Wednesday announced that they’re exercising their club option on left-hander Jose Quintana for 2019. This means Quintana will be under contract next season for $10.5 million. His deal also includes an $11.5 million club option/$1 million buyout for 2020.
Quintana, who turns 30 in January, is coming off a 2018 season in which he pitched to a 4.03 ERA/106 ERA+ and 2.32 K/BB ratio in 174 1/3 innings 32 starts for the Cubs. For his career, he owns a 114 ERA+ across parts of seven major-league seasons.
The Cubs originally acquired Quintana from the crosstown White Sox in a July 2017 five-player blockbuster that sent elite prospects Eloy Jimenez and Dylan Cease the other way. Quintana with the Cubs has a 110 ERA+ and 2.88 K/BB ratio in 46 starts. In other words, while he’s been useful he’s declined a bit since his White Sox days.
That said, Quintana is still a huge bargain at $10.5 million, and this was an easy and obvious decision for the Cubs, who are still in contending mode for the near- to mid-term.
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