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The White Sox are of course deep in rebuilding mode, and the expectation is that remaining vets like Jose Quintana, Todd Frazier and David Robertson will eventually be moved. The most alluring of these is Quintana, who has an established record of pitching at near-ace levels and is signed to a team-friendly contract. Now, perhaps a new leading candidate to deal for Quintana has emerged. The deets from Buster Olney of ESPN ...

The Pirates are always on a tight budget and that's precisely what makes Quintana so appealing (in addition to all the quality pitching, of course). Quintana, who is still just 27 years of age, is signed through 2018 at a total cost of just $14.35 million. His contract also includes bargain options for 2019 and 2020 ($10.5 million/$1 million buyout in each instance). The price of those options can increase if Quintana hits certain incentives, but it's still going to wind up being cheap relative to the market prices for front-line starting pitching.

And speaking of front-line starting pitching, Quintana promises just that. He has topped 200 innings in four straight seasons and for his career he owns an ERA+ of 118 with a K/BB ratio of 3.20. Last season for the White Sox, he pitched to a 3.20 ERA in 32 starts and struck out 181 batters against just 49 unintentional walks. The Pirates could use a stabilizer in the rotation alongside Gerrit Cole and youngsters Jameson Taillon and Tyler Glasnow. The chronically underrated Quintana is just that.

As we've seen, though, the price in trade is going to be steep for a near-, mid- and long-term asset like Quintana who is locked up at discount prices. If the Pirates are going to land him, then it'll cost them in terms of young, controllable talent. On that front, it's worth noting that the Pirates do have a number of highly regarded prospects that Sox general manager Rick Hahn would likely find appealing.