Pirates Transactions
Pirates Send Jose Quintana to Cardinals For Johan Oviedo, Prospect
The Pittsburgh Pirates traded left-hander Jose Quintana and reliever Chris Stratton to the St. Louis Cardinals late Monday night for right-hander Johan Oviedo and corner infield prospect Malcom Nunez.
Nunez, 21, has been in the Cardinals’ Double-A system the entire year, and in 298 at-bats, has a slash line of .255/.360/.463 with an OPS of .823. Nunez has shown some pop in his bat with 17 homers, 11 doubles, and 66 RBIs.
Oviedo, 24l, has split time between the Cardinals’ major league club and their Triple-A affiliate. During his time in the majors this year, Oviedo has pitched in 25.1 innings with a 3.20 ERA. Oviedo seems like a classic case of a high strikeout guy with some control issues (9.24 K/9, 2.49 BB/9).
The Cardinals were in the market for a lefty with Steven Matz likely out for the season, and the Pirates saw an opportunity to send Quintana within the National League Central. Quintana (3-5) has a 3.50 ERA across 103 innings this season, along with 89 strikeouts. Quintana should be just what the doctor ordered for the Cardinals as they enter into the home stretch.
Now Pirates fans must wait for the 6 p.m. deadline Tuesday evening for any more potential trades. For now, it seems, the Pirates have dealt the biggest asset they were willing to part with.