The Giants have claimed veteran left-hander Jose Quintana off waivers from the Angels, per a team announcement from the Halos. The Giants themselves yet to announce the claim or a corresponding move, although they have an open 40-man roster spot after designating Tyler Chatwood for assignment this weekend.
Quintana, 32, signed a one-year, $8MM contract with the Angels over the winter in hopes of bouncing back from 2020’s injury-ruined season. However, the left-hander labored through just 10 starts before being ousted from the rotation and dropped to the bullpen. Fourteen of his past 15 games have come in relief, and the one spot start he made since that initial demotion went quite poorly. He’s still owed about $1.5MM between now and season’s end, and by claiming him on waivers, the Giants are assuming the remainder of that commitment.
In a total of 53 1/3 innings this season, Quintana has pitched to a 6.75 ERA with a career-worst 11.4 percent walk rate, but his secondary numbers paint a brighter picture. He’s sporting a 3.90 SIERA and career-best marks in strikeout percentage (28.7), swinging-strike rate (11.9 percent) and opponents’ chase rate (32.6 percent). His 45.6 percent ground-ball mark, meanwhile, is his best since back in 2015 with the White Sox.
Quintana has been rocked in the majority of his starts this season, but he holds a 3.93 ERA, a 28.6 percent strikeout rate and a tiny 3.9 percent walk rate in 18 1/3 frames as a reliever. It’s obviously a very small sample, but the vastly improved control he’s shown when working in relief perhaps encouraged the Giants to take a flier on a veteran arm who was at one point one of the most consistently solid starters in Major League Baseball.
From 2013-18, Quintana pitched at least 174 innings and made at least 32 starts per season. His ERA along the way was a rock-solid 3.58 — a number that was largely supported by metrics such as FIP (3.56) and SIERA (3.85). Quintana was a consummate source of reliable, above-average innings throughout that span and an often-overlooked name in All-Star and awards voting. Despite his consistency, he made just one All-Star appearance and only garnered Cy Young votes on one occasion: a 10th-place finish in 2016.
A return to his peak form probably shouldn’t be expected, but Quintana will give the Giants another lefty who is stretched out enough to at least throw a couple of innings per relief stint. And if he can maintain the output that he’s posted as a reliever to this point in the season — or perhaps improve upon it — he’ll be a fine addition to the team’s relief corps down the stretch. By claiming Quintana prior to Sept. 1, the Giants have ensured that he’ll be eligible for their postseason roster. He’s not a lock to be included, of course, but we’ve seen the Giants help turn around the careers of many pitchers to date and Quintana could surface as yet another data point on that growing list.
Wait, when did we dfa Quintana?
They didn’t. Teams don’t need to designate someone for assignment before placing them on waivers. They don’t even need to announce that the player has been placed on waivers.
Don’t forget that teams can place players on waivers without DFA – usually just to see if someone else wants them, often in cases like this where a veteran (who makes a lot) is on a team that isn’t making the playoffs to give them a shot at the playoffs (and save the team $). He might have been kept on the team if he hadn’t been claimed, though just as possible that he would’ve been DFAed and dropped (like Polanco was).
Thanks for the clarifications.
Angels just dumping guys right and left. Pujols/Quintana. I’m sure I’m missing a couple notable names.
You missed the Trout waiver. That’s why he never returned.
I’m sure they appreciate the opportunity to be in a playoff race.
Quintana is a lefty, and Pujols is a righty– so you’re right. Losing players left and right!
Really hope he can help the Giants but he was horrid here.
Where has that LOL Giants guy been? He’s missing a golden opportunity
he was a Padres fan so now he can’t really talk anymore haha
I love how the Giants built a more competitive roster than the Padres without having to tank for years or make flashy trades that get media headlines. Once the Giants spend on free agents it’s going to expose Preller even more.
Farhan > Preller
I also love how Giants fans celebrate World Series wins…..after they actually win the World Series.
Ladies and gentlemen, for your safety please step away from the Padres hype machine. Keep moving, nothing to see here.
They may not have been classically “tanking” but they were under .500 every year for half a decade. Little difference imo
Not really accurate. Finished well below .500 in 17/18/19 with a 29-31 finish to 20
You talking about the Gywnn guy? He was the biggest troll ever..he should never associate himself to Tony..what an insult to his name
in farhan we trust!!!!
Hopefully not another Chatwood bust!!!
he wasn’t a total bust – he ate a few innings – anything to patch up the rotation with desclafani’s ankle barking after 3 yesterday.
If he wasn’t a total bust, then i think we need to revisit our definition of total bust
I’m unsure what you thought the Giants’ reasoning was in bringing in Chatwood. It was to help alleviate innings from the bullpen.
He did just that.
well considering they paid little for him on a minor league deal and got him to eat some bullpen innings – I am not sure what you expected from him – it wasn’t like he was picked up on a large contract to be an ace or something
No, this pickup is far more positive—Quintana had always been a a fine arm until a few years ago. EXCELLENT pickup for the Giants!
Thank God he’s gone!! Actually, he should have been the lead car in a train of pitchers hitting the door.
Q was great with the White Sox!
I hope Q can find what he lost.
Where is “Coop” to help him!!!
Maller militia ?
Quintana was only good pitching after sale. With the scrubs he was mediocre..a move like this screams Mets desperation.
Kinda surprised he made it all the way to the Giants. Can think of many competitive teams that might have take a shot at those bullpen numbers holding for a few dozen more innings.
Contenders can’t really afford to take chances on bad players.
so you are saying the team with the best record in baseball and rated #1 in the power rankings by mlb is not a contender?
For few, he’s not worth the luxury tax hit.
As a SP, Quintana was horrifically bad – secondary numbers be damned. He was consistently behind in the count and missed over the middle of the plate because he could not locate his pitches at all.
Surprisingly, Quintana fared well as a RP. If the Giants use him out of the pen and he continues to locate, Quintana can give the Giants some solid low leverage innings.
As an Angels fan, I’m not sure I trust Quintana, but I do trust that Farhan sees something the Giants feel they can correct.
“Secondary numbers be damned” is a perfect qualifier for such a subjective opinion.
didn’t the giants turn around Gausman’s Career and DeSchalfanci’s as well? I hope they can turn Quintana’s aswell if they can then they’re set
Thanks Cubs!
Quintana joins a long line of pitchers (Matt Harvey, Matt Latos, Jordan Zimmermann, Chris Archer, Barry Zito, Shelby Miller, et. al.) who had promising starts but lost it for one reason or another. Did I miss anyone?
zito recovered at the end of his career from 2012 – the end – lincecum and cain both in the end completely fell off a cliff from the best in baseball to not being able to get anyone out.
Dontrelle Willis
Scott Kazmir,Bo Belinsky ,Mark Fideych,Oil Can Boyd,Dice K,Hidecki
Nicely done.
Mark prior, victor zombrano, Derek Holland. One injury and promising long career has tripped over a dog.
I don’t think Victor Zambrano really had all that promising of a start other than as a multi inning relief type in 2001. Otherwise he was bad.
Arrieta
Good luck, Jose! Hope to see you in the postseason.
OMG, Christmas in August. Thank you Giants.
Regards,
Every Angels Fan With A Pulse
I can understand you thanking the Giants, but all they’re doing is saving the Angels a measly $1.7M. Unless you’re used to getting coal in your stocking, it’s hardly Christmas in August.
If it saves the Angels the admission cost of a local dog show it’s worth while to unload Quintana. Dude never found it in Angel red and frankly, it hurt my eyeballs to watch him pitch.
Maybe if the Angels had a good pitching coach all of their pitchers would have been better this season. Matt Wise isn’t a pitching coach. He can’t fix anyone.
dirkg:
He was waived. He was off the Angels roster whether the Giants claimed him or not. The only benefit for the Angels is the small amount of money they’re off the hook for. To call that “Christmas in August” is hyperbole. I’m sure you could have found a more logical way to express your dislike for Quintana.
He was not off the roster; he was put on waivers. The Angels had 3 days to find a suitor and could have rescinded the waivers before the 3 days (and therefore would still be an Angel). Even if he did not get rescinded, they could have assigned him to their minor league affiliate. He was far from being gone. The Giants did the Angels a favor by taking him and unless your his wife or cousin, you should care less about whether I’m singing jingle bells upon his departure. I’ll throw back some egg nog in Qs honor. Cheers.
No. You are way off. First of all, before the trade deadline, when a player is DFA’d, teams have a week to trade, waive, or outright a player, not 3 days. But since it’s after the deadline, waivers are not revocable, and there is no finding a suitor. Quintana could not be traded even if he cleared.
Plus he was not DFA’d. He was placed directly on waivers, and he would need to clear waivers before he could be sent to the minors. And that’s only if he accepts a MiL assignment, He could choose to become a FA, and probably would, in hope of a contending team picking him up.
Wow. How many things can you get wrong in one post? So, again, all the Giants did was save the Angels some money.
i don’t understand your criticism? The young starters have developed and done very well under Wise. Rodriguez, Detmers, Sandoval, Suarez, and Barria, You really believe that problems with Quintana boil down to Wise as the pitching coach?
Our youngins can probably pitch better out of the pen than Quintana right now..
No need to read these comments. Go back and read the Thread where the Angels signed Quintana.
Can’t hurt. Well, he could hurt, but maybe he won’t. Certainly worth taking a flyer on.
Every other team passed on him for him to get to San Francisco, that’s funny
It could be some teams were hoping he’d clear, so they could sign him for the prorated minimum, and save themselves around $1.5M.
I remember when the Pirates thought they were contenders and were interested in him and Archer, looks like a lose-lose situation. I was bummed when the Cubs traded for Quintana.
Horrible trade which will haunt the Cubs for many years
Was just looking at that. All the trades the cubs made they had a great farm system. Lot of guys are working out well.
not exactly Theo Epstein’s finest hour.
Maybe their coaches all have sore shoulders and they claimed him to throw batting practice
This guy was such a stud once upon a time, but then again, so was Shelby Miller. I had no problem with the Giants swinging and missing on Chatwood; such is the nature of DFA reclamation projects. But in this case, I hope it’s not money for nothing.
manfraud’s 3 batter rule wiped out lefty specialists.
Shoemaker, Chatwood, now Quintana. Did Farhan find a sale on Angel castoffs?
but the giants are still very good!
I think—despite recent results—that Quintana has been a far better arm than Shoemaker and Chatwood. This is a good get for a pitching staff that’s looking a little tired.
Plus the deadline deal for Tony Watson
good riddance! he can only be decent if he pitches only to lh hitters. hope perry follows him out of the door!
Low-hanging fruit for Theo- and Cubs-haters.
He traded Eloy and Dylan Cease for him. Prob his worst trade ever. “Oh, he’s so consistent!” Yep, consistently bad.
That trade alone hurt the Cubs as much as anything. And to give them up to the white sox? Ugh. Unforgivable. .
The next Hunter Strickland. Since he was released by Anaheim, he has pitched at a 1.50 ERA between Tampa & Milwaukee in close to 40 appearances. Watch Quintana be nasty for the Giants too.
That’s because the Angels have a crappy pitching coach who didn’t deserve the job. Matt Wise isn’t a pitching coach. The Angels need to poach Andrew Bailey back from the Giants like the Giants did to the Angels.
I’d rather bet on Quintana than Strickland. Don’t want that guy back in a SF uniform.
How are Q’s career numbers against the Dodgers? Giants need another arm with DeSclafani and Wood showing major kinks in the armor
Gausman, too, frankly.
not to mention Cueto.
The Giants can have Quintana but the Angels are taking Andrew Bailey back. He should be our pitching coach.
Giants claim Jose Quintana off waivers after the DFA of his former Cubs rotation mate Tyler Chatwood. ‘Q’ now reunites with Kris Bryant as the Giants look to clinch a playoff spot in the coming weeks before entering the postseason as NL West champs or the leagues top wild card seed.
thank you USAToday!
Leave him alone, Montilla—-we could have been graced with another headline sentence of no consequence telling us that he also “joins left handed hitting specialist Tommy LaStella who was a fine teammate of “Q” with the Chicago northside ball club.”
Giants hoping for a change of scenery transformation. Tony Watson has worked out for them since acquiring him from the Halos and Hunter Strickland has also done a 180° since leaving the Angels. Something about pitching for the Angels that brings out the worst in pitchers.
it’s Orange County
With the Starters going “almost” five innings on a good night. Maybe a little more. This might work. Of course if he pitches well. Hopefully better than Chatwood. Never liked that guy. Always walked a ton of guys. It might work. The Giants need a multi inning reliever spot starter ala Long. Give it a Shot.
Wood and Cueto to COVID list. So this makes much more sense now right?
So… no.
“An often-overlooked name in All-Star and awards voting”
Is just not accurate. Not at all.
With two of their pitchers recently put on the COVID list, this move is likely to eat some innings until they’re back to 100%
Wouldn’t be surprised if Quintana started today against the Brewers. He has historically done well against them and with Wood and Cueto on the Covid protocol, they haven’t announced their starter for tonight.
I think it’s more likely we’d see an opener with Quintana then coming in for 3-4 innings as Garcia did yesterday
And Quintana in his first game as a Giant does something he never did with the Angels. 3.1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 6 K.
He’s come a long ways since being traded from the White Sox to the Cubs in 2017. now he is placed on waivers and claimed, crazy!
Rick Hahn looks like a genius turning this guy into Eloy Jimenez