Pirates Takeaways: Jose Quintana Not Caught Up in Trade Rumors
PITTSBURGH — Jose Quintana might have made his last start with the Pittsburgh Pirates on Saturday night.
If it was Quintana’s finale at PNC Park, it was a good one. He pitched four-hit ball over seven innings and combined with Wil Crowe and David Bednar on a five-hit shutout as the Pirates downed the Miami Marlins 1-0.
Quintana is increasingly being mentioned in trade rumors leading up to Major League Baseball’s Aug. 2 deadline. It seems certain the rebuilding Pirates will find a trade partner among the many contending teams who could use help at the backend of their rotations.
The 33-year-old says he is unfazed by the idea he will likely be sent packing. He was included in plenty of trade rumors for nearly two years while pitching for the Chicago White Sox before they finally shipped him across town to the Cubs in 2017 during the All-Star break.
“It bothered me then but I’m older now and I understand baseball is a business,” Quintana told PittsburghBaseballNow! following Saturday’s win. “I know there is nothing I can do.”
Quintana is 3-5 with a 3.70 ERA in 19 starts. The Pirates’ young rotation would certainly miss the man who has become its veteran anchor.
“I think when we signed him, we knew, number one, he was a good veteran presence in the clubhouse and he’s even better than advertised there – and he was advertised pretty well,” manager Derek Shelton said. “The other thing is when you have a young group of pitchers, to have a guy that every fifth day is going to take the ball, he’s going to go out and he’s going to give you innings. It’s really important for us.”
Allen Finally Makes Debut
Greg Allen made his Pirates’ debut a lot later than hoped.
Allen batted second and played center field. He went 1 for 4 with two strikeouts.
The 29-year-old had spent the entire season on the injured list because of strains to both hamstrings before being activated Friday.
The Pirates claimed Allen off waivers from the New York Yankees on Nov. 5. He seemed on his way to earning significant playing time this season until being injured in the final days of spring training.
Allen admits all the downtime was frustrating.
“In life you’ve always got a lot of obstacles that might come your way and things don’t always go according to plan,” Allen said. “You’ve just got to just do the best you can to make the best of the situation.”
Shelton is hoping Allen can provide a veteran presence in both the lineup and clubhouse. Designated hitter Daniel Vogelbach was traded Friday to the New York Mets.
“Credit to him because he got hurt in spring training and has been grinding hard to get back,” Shelton said of Allen. “I know he would have liked to have been back sooner than July 23.”
Rough Night for Hayes
Ke’Bryan Hayes made two errors, raising his season-total to 10. It’s a surprising amount for a player who some scouts consider the premier defensive third baseman in the major leagues.
Hayes had just three errors in 95 games last season. It was also the first multi-error game of Hayes’ three-year career.
The advanced metrics, though, suggest there is no reason to worry about Hayes’ fielding. He has 15 defensive runs saved this season, one off his National League-leading total from 2021.
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