Gordo: Cubs acquire Quintana, up NL Central ante

So far this season, Quintana has a 4-8 record, with a 4.49 ERA, 1.32 WHIP.

Even if they fail to make the playoffs this season, the Cubs seem to be angling towards long term dominance.

#WhiteSox have acquired OF Eloy Jiménez, RHP Dylan Cease, 1B Matt Rose & INF Bryant Flete from the Cubs in exchange for LHP José Quintana.

“I felt really good”, Davis told MASN. After this trade the Cubs have none of baseball’s top 100 prospects.

Cubs baseball president Theo Epstein and general manager Jed Hoyer maintained a courageous face during their team’s brutal first half, but the struggles of Jon Lester, John Lackey and Co. forced their hand – as the entire industry anticipated it would. He was the ace of that White Sox staff, carrying a 4.49 ERA.

In return, the Cubs add an arm in left-hander Jose Quintana. Hopefully, I’ll have a chance this year. Quintana’s name had been linked to just about every team in baseball, and it was only a matter of time before someone made a substantial enough offer to get the White Sox to part with him. The Cubs, which has had trouble with its starting rotation, got Quintana; the White Sox, which are rebuilding, got four prospects.

Now, who would have thought that he’d still be wearing a White Sox uniform in July? White Sox general manager Rick Hahn said letting him go was a hard choice for the rebuilding team.

But while acquiring the 28-year-old southpaw from the White Sox does help the Cubs both now and in the future, it alone doesn’t solve all of the ills impacting the 2016 World Champions, both now or in the future.

Jimenez was the Cubs top hitting prospect, batting.271 with eight home runs and 32 RBIs at high-A and Cease was the team’s top pitching prospect, who was 1-2 with a 2.79 ERA in Single-A.

A native of the Dominican Republic, Jimenez is now ranked as the No. 8 overall prospect in the Major League Baseball farm system. If he can post something closer to his career ERA of 3.51 with the Cubs then he will definitely help make them more competitive. The best news for the Cubs though is that Quintana has a 2.51 career ERA at Wrigley Field. He last pitched versus the Rockies on Saturday, allowing three runs on five hits in 5 1/3 innings and coming away with a no-decision despite striking out 10. Going into the All-Star break below.500 in a bad division despite relatively good team health, THAT created the urgency.

The pair reconnected Monday, spoke Tuesday about the Cubs’ willingness to include their top two prospects, and texted throughout the All-Star Game to figure out the final two pieces of the deal.

Jose Quintana packed up his locker and played catch with Derek Holland, Carlos Rodon and Tommy Kahnle one more time.