5 reasons to love the Jose Quintana deal for the Cubs

3. Epstein still has room to work

In trading away Eloy Jimenez and Dylan Cease, the Cubs gave up their top two prospects. All things considered, however, they paid a relatively light price for a pitcher like Quintana. The two other pieces in the trade are not even ranked in the organizational top 30 for the Cubs. Epstein was also able to protect MLB regulars like Ian Happ, Kyle Schwarber, Albert Almora and Javier Baez.

There is no denying the potential in Jimenez and Cease, but both are years away from impacting the Cubs at the MLB level. Jimenez is also blocked in right field by Jason Heyward, so it becomes easier to move him. The big right fielder has drawn comparisons to Giancarlo Stanton, but is still very much a lottery ticket at the age of 20 playing in High-A.

Cease was a solid find for the Cubs in the sixth round of the 2014 amateur draft, where he slipped because of concerns over the health of his elbow. The Cubs picked the right-hander in spite of his Tommy John and gave him a big bonus because they were desperate for pitching. Cease was limited to five innings for his entire first two seasons as a pro. Even this year, he is still averaging fewer than four innings a start in Single-A.

The pieces the Cubs gave up to acquire their new left-hander are years away from arriving in the big leagues, and may not have figured into the long-term plans in 2019 or 2020 in the first place. The White Sox were willing to make a bet on two high-upside prospects without demanding more MLB-ready chips who are already playing for the Cubs.