3 Cardinals trade deadline deals from last year that have turned against them
By Tim Boyle
2) Cardinals trade turning against them: Jose Quintana from the Pirates
So maybe you’re happy enough with what Jordan Montgomery has done for the Cardinals this year. What about what Jose Quintana has given them? Wait, he’s not here. He’s currently on the IL for the New York Mets. A pure rental for the Cardinals last year acquired alongside reliever Chris Stratton, the Cardinals let him walk in free agency after an even better dozen starts for them in the regular season.
After picking him up from the Pittsburgh Pirates, Quintana went 3-2 with a 2.01 ERA. He tossed 5.1 shutout innings in his playoff start only for the bullpen to blow it.
The Cardinals do still have Stratton in the bullpen and that’s good. But they may have handed a division rival two valuable young pieces in the process. Johan Oviedo, 25, is now 5-7 with a 3.88 ERA for Pittsburgh through his first 20 starts for them dating back to last season. The numbers are eerily similar to what Montgomery has done at a fraction of the cost. Wouldn’t it be nice to have Oviedo around at this point?
On a surprisingly good Pirates club this year, Oviedo is a little bit worse than he was down the stretch when the club was out of the postseason race. Now 3-5 with a 4.16 ERA, he’s heading in the right even though he did just lose to Quintana’s current squad.
The trade did also include minor leaguer Malcolm Nunez. The 22-year-old popped 23 home runs and drove in 88 on the farm last year. Through his first 160 plate appearances in Triple-A for the Bucs in 2023, he has 4 more long balls and 25 RBI to go with a .255/.338/.369 slash line.
That’s always the risk a team runs when they buy a rental midseason. Unless you win a championship, you probably come out as the loser.