Former No. 1 pick Cal Quantrill makes for an interesting trade target for the Padres. 

The San Diego Padres need pitching.

With Joe Musgrove and Yu Darvish both currently injured, the future seems cloudy regarding the rotation.

Michael King, Randy Vasquez, and Matt Waldron are doing an excellent job carrying their weight, but the Padres will need more arms to successfully make it through the season and into the 2024 MLB playoffs. In the minors, the majority of the pitching prospects are in the lower tier, so reinforcements from that area aren’t viable.

Tarik Skubal and Garrett Crochet would be enormous additions to the Padres, but both pitchers come with a tremendous price tag—one that the Padres are not likely to pay.

In thinking outside the box, Cal Quantrill makes sense for San Diego.

The Padres’ former #1 pick in 2016, who came from Stanford, was traded to Cleveland for Mike Clevinger in August 2020.

While pitching for the Indians and Guardians in Cleveland, Quantrill was 27-15 with a 3.58 ERA and a 1.250 WHIP in 99 games and 75 starts. His best season came in 2022 when the right-handed pitcher went 15-5 with a 3.38 ERA and a 1.208 WHIP in 32 starts and 186.1 innings pitched.

He suffered some injuries last season, and his ERA ballooned to 5.24 in 19 starts, which promoted Cleveland to deal him in the winter to the Colorado Rockies. Being sent to the Rockies is usually a death sentence, but Quantrill shows a lot of tenacity and started his career by pitching well in Colorado.

The Canadian pitcher went 4-0 in May with a 1.71 ERA and 0.916 WHIP in five starts, including a 6-3 win on May 14 over the Padres at Petco Park. The deal looked like a bargain for the Rockies, who are always in search of pitchers capable of toeing the rubber at Coors Field.

Quantrill has taken his lumps in his last handful of starts this season. He has allowed 18 runs in his previous five starts before the All-Star break in 23.1 innings pitched. Three out of the five starts were at Coors Field, and the other was in Cincinnati (which is pretty equivalent). On Friday, Quantrill went six innings, allowing three earned runs to the Giants, and struck out five batters.

There are some red flags, but one would think getting him out of Colorado would only benefit the 29-year-old pitcher.

The Padres would not need to pay an exorbitant price tag for the pitcher who is due for free agency after the 2025 season. With one and a half years of service time before he hits free agency, Quantrill will be highly motivated to pitch the best he has ever thrown. That in itself has tremendous value if you ask me; motivation goes a long way in the sport of baseball.

Quantrill is making $6.55 million this season, and that could be an issue for the Padres, who are penny-pinching presently. Preller and his staff could get creative in a deal and make Quantrill the headliner in a deal in which the Padres also retain a useful relief pitcher from the Rockies. Perhaps the Padres can rid themselves of some financial burdens if they include enough prospect haul to satisfy the Rockies. Anything can happen.

Acquiring Cal Quantrill would not automatically make the Padres the favorites in the N.L. West. His addition would not be a sexy trade, but it would be one of necessity, and obtaining a few pitchers like this may be a smarter way for the Padres to approach their lack of arms. The Rockies would not demand top prospects from the Padres in a potential deal. That is enticing to Preller.

One way or another, the Padres will acquire some pitching in the next several weeks.

A reunion with Cal Quantrill makes sense for the Padres on so many levels.

James Clark

James was born and raised in America’s Finest City. He is a passionate baseball fan with even more passion towards his hometown Padres. Editor-In-Chief of EastVillageTimes.com. Always striving to bring you the highest quality in San Diego Sports News. Original content, with original ideas, that’s our motto. Enjoy.