Quintana retires first 17 Reds in dominant performance

Amidst continuous trade rumors, Chicago White Sox starting pitcher Jose Quintana just keeps doing his job.

Quintana nearly duplicated his World Baseball Classic start from March 10, when he logged 5 2/3 no-hit innings against the United States. Thursday against the Cincinnati Reds, he was perfect until outfielder Beau Amaral hit a double with two outs in the sixth inning.

The Reds couldn't capitalize and Quintana finished seven innings allowing no earned runs on two hits with three strikeouts and no walks. He needed only 73 pitches, and 59 were strikes. The southpaw has now allowed only one earned run over nine spring training innings.

The White Sox seemingly started a hard rebuild in the offseason, dealing away ace pitcher Chris Sale and outfielder Adam Eaton to re-stock the farm system with a plethora of top young talent. Since those trades both Quintana and closer David Robertson have been rumored to be next.

With two years left on his team-friendly contract, and two $10.5-million option years, Quintana should be a coveted asset. Due to him being relatively inexpensive compared to many of his peers, the White Sox will need to get plenty in return.

Thursday's performance paired with how well Quintana pitched at the WBC could keep him in Chicago as the ace to build around. He has pitched at least 200 innings in four consecutive seasons, never posting an ERA above 3.51 in that time. At 28, he could be part of the in-house solution.