White Sox stars stuck in limbo Quintana, others waiting to be dealt as part of team’s rebuild
Jose Quintana sat by himself on the couch in the middle of the Chicago White Sox clubhouse Monday, alone in his thoughts, prepared for a game he planned to treasure forever.
This was going to be Quintana’s first opening-day start — and also his last opening-day start in a White Sox uniform.
Well, it was only fitting that after waiting all winter for the phone call to tell him that he was traded, he instead was informed that his opening-day start would be put on hold.
The White Sox’s first homeopening-day game against the De-
troit Tigers since 1958 was postponed because of rain.
Quintana will have to come back to Guaranteed Rate Field again Tuesday.
This might be a guy the White Sox absolutely adore but also desperately want to trade.
Why, once the White Sox traded ace Chris Sale to the Boston Red Sox on Dec. 6, and center fielder Adam Eaton to the Washington Nationals 24 hours later, they planned on Quintana being next.
A week passed, then another week, the holidays, New Year’s, Presidents’ Day, spring training, and somehow Quintana still was with the White Sox as the season opened.
For a team that badly wants to gut its roster and rebuild the team, the White Sox never envisioned they would be opening the season with Quintana. Or closer David Robertson. Or third baseman Todd Frazier. Or outfielder Melky Cabrera. Or even first baseman Jose Abreu.
“We’ve made no secret that if we had our druthers, we would have made some other moves over the course of the offseason,” White Sox general manager Rick Hahn said. “It would have been marvelous, it would have been great, if we had four more of those things over the successive days where we continued this process. We made it clear to everyone not only what we were trying to do, but we were able to accomplish it quickly.
“This isn’t reality. This is an extended process. We realize that we’re closer to the start of this process than we are the end.”
The White Sox veterans certainly recognize they are short-timers and are curious about their futures. Several have requested private meetings with Hahn, telling him they would prefer to stay put.
Sorry, Hahn tells them, but business is business.
If they are ever going to win again, they need to strip it down like an old car on blocks, hoping that by 2020, or perhaps even the summer of 2019, they can be contenders again.
“I know guys will be in and out here,” said shortstop Tim Anderson, considered the cornerstone of the franchise after signing a sixyear, $25 million extension in March. “But everybody has to just buy into this thing. If we do this right, it’s going to lead into championships.”
The formula worked on the north side of town, with the Chicago Cubs ready to hoist their World Series championship flag in a week at Wrigley Field. It worked for the Kansas City Royals, who made back-to-back World Series appearances. And it’s working in Houston, with the Astros emerging as potential World Series contenders this year.
“I think the direction is pretty clear and transparent,” Hahn said.
It’s no secret the one man who doesn’t fit into their plans is Quintana. For them to have a glorious rebuild, they need Quintana gone, selling him off for a package of players similar to the one they received from the Red Sox that included No. 1 prospect Yoan Moncada. Quintana, 28, is two months older than Sale and cheaper; he is owed just $36.85 million over the next four years. And the White Sox are trying to convince suitors he’s nearly as good, as one of only six big-leaguers to make at least 30 starts and pitch 200 or more innings in each of the last four seasons. For his career, he is 46-46 with a 3.41 ERA.
“We can sleep well at night, knowing that there really hasn’t been anything presented to us that’s been turned down that we look back in retrospect and could possibly kick ourselves for turning down,” Hahn said.
The White Sox front office might sleep soundly, but pardon Quintana if he jumps out of bed the moment he hears his cellphone buzz, wondering if it’s Hahn telling him to start packing. He badly wants to stay but knows he’s not wanted. Nothing personal, Hahn tells him, but business is business.
“My future is the present,” Quintana said. “My future is here. I pay attention to right now. That’s all I can control.”
It’s no different for Robertson, Frazier or anyone else in the White Sox club- house not named Anderson or starter Carlos Rodon.
The plan is to lose but not stink. Be competitive but not win. Stay patient, knowing that as much as it hurts now, the pain should be worth it one day in the future.
“We’re going to be tested,” Hahn said, “not just from a patience standpoint, but also from a competitiveness standpoint. Any individual game we’re watching, we’re going to want to win that ballgame.
“At the same time, there might be stretches where those are few and far between. We have to remain vigilant about what we’re trying to accomplish for the long term and stick to that plan.”
And that plan calls for Quintana’s exit.
“People get it,” Hahn said. “They’re excited for the future, and they’re braced for what the present may hold.”