Pirates Deal Quintana and Stratton to Rival Cards

Story by Yinzer Crazy Pirates Contributor Baron Dionis

The Pirates made their second move of the 2022 MLB Trade Deadline by trading LHP Jose Quintana and RHP Chris Stratton to the St. Louis Cardinals for RHP Johan Oviedo and 3B/1B Malcom Nunez. 

Quintana, 33, signed a one year contract worth $2 million this off-season. Having a bounce back year was what the Pirates were hoping for when they signed the veteran.

Quintana in 2022: 3-5 with a 3.50 ERA, 89 SO, 103 IP, 1.27 WHIP, 31 BB, 2.0 WAR, 3.24 FIP.

Stratton, 31, was currently the longest tenured pitcher in Pittsburgh after being claimed off of waivers in 2019. Stratton has been solid up until this year when he started to struggle.

Stratton in 2022: 5-4 with a 5.09 ERA, 37 SO, 40.2 IP, 8 HLD, 2 SV, 1.55 WHIP, 13 BB, -0.4 WAR, 3.61 FIP.

With the subtraction of Quintana and Stratton, it opens spots up for pitchers such as Colin Holderman, Roansy Contreras, or newest addition Johan Oviedo to be on the MLB roster. 

Pirates acquire RHP Johan Oviedo and 3B/1B Malcom Nunez from the Cardinals.

Oviedo, 24, found a lot of success in the bullpen after being a starter and struggled. The pirates are in desperate need of bullpen help and the young arm in Oviedo can very well help that.

Oviedo in 2022: 2-1 with a 3.20 ERA, 26 SO, 25.1 IP, 1.30 WHIP, 7 BB, 0.3 WAR, 4.06 FIP.

Nunez, 21, was the Cardinals 10th ranked prospect, but is now ranked 11th in our rankings. Nunez is currently in AA and should soon be in AAA. Lowering the strikeouts will benefit Nunez a lot in his development.

Nunez in 2022: .255 AVG, .360 OBP, .463 SLG, .823 OPS, 11 2B, 17 HR, 66 RBI, 4 SB.

A good trade on both ends as the Cardinals get pitching help as they attempt to make the playoffs and the Pirates continue to build around young guys. The trade deadline ends at 6PM today. Expect to see more trades with the possibility of guys like Ben Gamel and Kevin Newman being traded.