Rockies Acquire Cal Quantrill
By Mark Polishuk | November 17, 2023 at 11:04am CDT

The Rockies announced that right-hander Cal Quantrill has been acquired in a trade with the Guardians. Cleveland will receive minor league catcher Kody Huff in return, and Colorado has designated right-hander Tommy Doyle to create room on the 40-man roster.

Some kind of move seemed imminent when the Guardians designated Quantrill for assignment earlier this week, whether or not that move was a trade or the Guards just releasing Quantrill as an early non-tender. The righty is projected to earn $6.6MM in the second of three arbitration-eligible years, which was perhaps a bit steep for a Cleveland team that traditionally has modest payrolls, and considering the fact that Quantrill struggled in 2023.

However, it was an acceptable price for a Rox team in dire need of starting pitching. Denver’s thin air has always put an extra burden on Rockies pitchers, but things went particularly sideways in 2023 when the club was hit with a long list of injuries to pitchers at the both the Major League and minor league levels. Colorado’s rotation wasn’t thought to be a strong group even going into the season, yet with injuries depleting the ranks, the Rockies’ pitching staff (both starters and relievers) finished at or near the bottom of the league in most statistical categories.

Health was a problem for Quantrill as well last year, as some nagging shoulder inflammation sent him to the injured list twice and limited him to 99 2/3 innings. This was a big drop from the 168 frames he averaged over the 2021-22 seasons, as well as a slide from his quality numbers in those previous two years. Quantrill posted a 3.16 ERA for Cleveland in 2021-22, but that number ballooned to 5.24 in 2023.

A glance at the secondary numbers is necessary, as Quantrill’s 4.50 SIERA in 2021-22 indicates that he was in some sense fortunate to deliver such a solid bottom-line ERA. Quantrill has always been a below-average strikeout pitcher who nevertheless had strong chase rates, yet his chase rate dropped off significantly to 26.5% last season, and his 13.1% strikeout rate in 2023 was almost the worst in baseball. The righty also allowed much more hard contact in 2023 than in past years.

Coors Field isn’t exactly the best ballpark for a pitcher in need of a rebound year, so Quantrill will face a difficult challenge on his new club. Simply staying healthy and eating some innings would be a decent outcome for both Quantrill and the Rockies, and Colorado’s ever-present need for pitching probably means that barring injury or a drastic downturn in performance, Quantrill stand a good chance of being tendered a contract for his final arbitration year.

Better than nothing.

Rather than non-tender Quantrill for nothing, the Guards did get some return back in Huff, a Stanford product who was a seventh-round pick for the Rockies in the 2022 draft. He spent the 2023 season at the Rockies’ A-ball affiliate in Fresno, hitting .262/.357/.374 over 340 plate appearances. Baseball America’s scouting report on Huff describes him as a “baseball rat” type, and “his well-rounded game and advanced instincts give him a chance to be a backup catcher.” Cleveland has long prioritized defense from the catching position, and that stance doesn’t appear to be changing especially now that an ex-catcher in Stephen Vogt is the Guardians’ new manager.

Keith Law

Colorado acquires RHP Cal Quantrill from Cleveland for C Kody Huff

Cal Quantrill will be pitching at Coors Field next season after a down 2023. (David Richard / USA Today)
The Rockies acquired right-hander Cal Quantrill, who had been designated for assignment by Cleveland, for catching prospect Kody Huff. Quantrill’s a command guy with low strikeout rates and seems like a poor fit for Colorado, where balls in play are worth more and right now the Rockies’ defense is around average. I do understand the need to acquire innings, but I’m worried about Quantrill becoming either very homer-prone or just giving up too many hits to give the Rockies the bulk they want. He would have been a great fit for someone like the Padres, though.

Huff was the Rockies’ seventh-round pick in 2022 out of Stanford, a high baseball IQ guy (and son of Diamondbacks scout Tim Huff) who makes a lot of contact, something Cleveland values more than perhaps any other team, without much power. Huff hit .262/.357/.374 last year as a 22-year-old in Low-A Fresno, a good park for power. I think he can be a backup in the majors — Drew Butera had a 12-year career with a similar skill set.

Cleveland Guardians
@CleGuardians
We have acquired RHP Scott Barlow from the Padres in exchange for RHP Enyel De Los Santos.

·
Ramon Laureano signs a $5.15MM dollar arb deal .

Bob Nightengale
@BNightengale
·
51m
The Cleveland Guardians acquire RHP Scott Barlow from the San Diego Padres for RHP Enyel De Los Santos, while also signing OF Ramon Laureano to a one-year contract, avoiding arbitration.

Guardians, Padres Swap Scott Barlow, Enyel De Los Santos
By Anthony Franco | November 17, 2023 at 6:34pm CDT

The Guardians announced they’ve acquired reliever Scott Barlow from the Padres. Fellow reliever Enyel De Los Santos is back to San Diego in a one-for-one swap. Cleveland also announced they’ve signed outfielder Ramón Laureano to a one-year contract to avoid arbitration. Zack Meisel of the Athletic reports (on X) that Laureano will make $5.15MM next season.

Barlow has spent the majority of his career in the AL Central. The right-hander reached the big leagues with the Royals in 2018. He logged five and a half seasons in Kansas City, where he was one of the game’s more quietly effective bullpen arms. Barlow turned in a sub-3.00 ERA over 74 1/3 innings in consecutive seasons from 2021-22. That excellent run prevention took a step back this year, as he carried a 5.35 mark through 38 2/3 frames at the time of the trade deadline.

The Royals swapped Barlow to San Diego last summer. While he’d been working as Kansas City’s closer, he stepped into a setup role in deference to Josh Hader at Petco Park. Barlow made 25 appearances for the Friars down the stretch, pitching to a 3.07 ERA. While Barlow was reasonably effective down the stretch, he became a trade candidate yet again as rumors of payroll constraints in San Diego arose.

Zack Meisel
@ZackMeisel
·
1h
New Guardians reliever Scott Barlow, acquired from the Padres, is projected to make about $7 million via arbitration in 2024.

Cleveland also agreed to a $5.15 million deal for 2024 with outfielder Ramón Laureano, per source.

Matan K
@mk237700
·
8h
If #Guardians fans are interested in Kody Huff (acquired today for Quantrill) the most interesting thing I can find about him is that per
@baseballpro
, he was the best defensive player in A ball last season and posted above average marks in framing, blocking and throwing:

Guardians Prospective
@CleGuardPro
#Guardians tendered contracts to the following players:

RHP Scott Barlow
RHP Shane Bieber
RHP James Karinchak
RHP Triston McKenzie
RHP Nick Sandlin
LHP Sam Hentges
1B Josh Naylor
C Christian Bethancourt

came to terms with: OF Ramon Laureano $5.15MM
9:29 PM · Nov 17, 2023
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So, the Quantrill salary dump was offset by the Barlow and De Los Santos swap. Money about the same.

Still no bats.

Yes, the $ is equalized.
I guess Barlow is the "veteran reliever" on the winter want list. Substitute for Lopez and filling the "Bryan Shaw gap".

As for Huff, I note that 3 catchers were listed on a Rockies 30 man prospect list midseason and he was not one of them.

No comments on Laureano ? Will be paying Laureano more than Straw. Straw is a moveable contract.

Huff sounds like a future manager in waiting!!!! LOL