2021 will be the first time in his Major League career that Jose Quintana will call a city other than Chicago home. Quintana, who came up with the Southsiders in 2012, was the Cubs return in the Eloy Jiminez blockbuster in 2017. Across his MLB career with the Sox and Cubs, he’s posted a 3.73 ERA over 1495 innings of work.

A 2016 All-Star, he fared significantly better in the American League where he posted a 3.54 cumulative ERA, as opposed to a much higher 4.24 ERA in the National League. The 31 year old is now heading West to pitch for a shattered Angels rotation, first reported by The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal. MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand is reporting that it is a one year deal worth $8M. While the last two seasons have been a struggle for the southpaw (4.67 ERA in only 181.1 IP), his peripherals suggest that he’s fallen victim to extraordinarily bad luck, having a 3.75 FIP over that span, far closer to his career averages. Despite his alarming 4.50 ERA that’s cause of concern to some, his FIP was a stellar 2.99 in 2020.

Regardless of whether they get Cubs Quintana or he sees a resurgence returning to the American League, Quintana is a key grab for the Angels who have one of the most stacked lineups in baseball. Their team ERA in 2020 was 5.09 while the starters specifically posted a 5.52 ERA. In 2019, the last full season played in MLB, they posted a club-wide 5.12 ERA with the starters contributing to a 5.64 ERA. Regardless of how he performs, Quintana will provide valuable innings to an often-injured, not very good starting staff and almost undoubtedly get the Opening Day nod. It’s also a reunion, as Quintana was managed by current Angels manager Joe Maddon from 2017-2019 as a member of the Chicago Cubs.

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