The Angels announced that left-hander Jose Quintana has been placed on the 10-day injured list due to shoulder inflammation. Southpaw Jose Quijada will take Quintana’s spot on the active roster.
Quintana threw three innings in a start yesterday before being removed from the game due to inflammation in his throwing shoulder, so today’s IL news isn’t a surprise. It is only the third time in Quintana’s 10 Major League seasons that he has been sent to the injured list, though rather troublingly, all three of those placements have come within the last two seasons. A picture of durability for much of his career, Quintana threw only 10 innings in 2020 with the Cubs due to left lat inflammation and a nerve problem in his left thumb.
Despite the abbreviated season, the Angels inked Quintana to a one-year, $8M free agent contract in the hopes that he could help stabilize their long-suffering rotation. Unfortunately, that hope hasn’t worked out, as Quintana has a 7.22 ERA through 33 2/3 innings. Batters are making a lot of hard contact against Quintana’s pitches and his 15.7% walk rate is by far the worst of his career. There are some brief glimmers of hope, however, as Quintana’s 30.1% strikeout rate is also a career-best, and his SIERA is a much more palatable 4.37. The left-hander has been victimized by the Angels’ poor defense, as Quintana has a stunningly high .400 BABIP.
Patrick Sandoval is the probable candidate to take Quintana’s rotation spot, manager Joe Maddon told reporters, including Jack Harris of the Los Angeles Times. Sandoval has already started his last three outings due to various fill-in and spot start circumstances, so it makes for a relatively easy transition for the left-hander. The Statcast metrics haven’t liked Sandoval’s work this season, but he has managed a 3.80 ERA over 21 1/3 frames of work.
More must-reads: