The Cleveland Guardians certainly require assistance in their rotation.
Shane Bieber is still a great, but he will miss a significant portion of the season, and it is never wise to expect a player to remain the same after recovering from a catastrophic injury.
Tanner Bibee should be their ace early in the campaign, while Luis L. Ortiz is a promising new signing.
Also, getting Triston McKenzie back to his old self could be a huge help for this club.
However, they cannot afford to take any chances, and they may wish to acquire another solid arm while they still have the opportunity.
With that in mind, Kerry Miller of Bleacher Report feels they might and should make a push at veteran left-handed pitcher Jose Quintana.
“For a team that’s supposed to make the playoffs, Cleveland’s starting rotation is kind of awful. Meanwhile, in 11 career appearances at Progressive Field—most of them during his early days with the White Sox, but just go with it—Quintana has a 1.95 ERA. And at an estimated salary of a little over $8 million, adding him would bring Cleveland’s estimated Opening Day tax payroll to around $124 million,” Miller said.
He’s expected to receive a two-year contract worth roughly $17 million.
He concluded last season with a 10-10 record, a 3.75 ERA, a 1.25 WHIP, and 7.1 strikeouts per nine innings over 170.1 innings.
He doesn’t strike out as many as he used to, but he’s always been a consistent and dependable arm who could definitely help the middle of this rotation.
More crucially, he may be a team-friendly addition to an outfit that rarely spends big money or appears to have a large payroll.
Signing him to this type of contract would bring their payroll to roughly $124 million, which is $20 million less than they ended last season with.
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The Guardians have a fantastic bullpen and outstanding defense, but their rotation remains underwhelming, so this is a move they should seriously explore.
