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Cardinals acquire veteran lefty Quintana from Pirates

Pittsburgh Pirates starting pitcher Jose Quintana delivers during the second inning of the team's baseball game against the Miami Marlins in Pittsburgh, Saturday, July 23, 2022. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Jose Quintana has parlayed his success in Pittsburgh into a job in St. Louis.

The Pirates traded the veteran left-handed pitcher to the Cardinals on Monday night in exchange for reliever Johan Oviedo and corner infield prospect Malcolm Nunez. Pittsburgh also sent right-handed reliever Chris Stratton to St. Louis.

The 33-year-old Quintana signed a $2 million, one-year deal with the Pirates last fall intent on re-establishing himself as a starter after spending most of the last two seasons working out of the bullpen with multiple clubs. Quintana delivered, going 3-5 with a 3.50 ERA in 20 starts with Pittsburgh, including 5 2/3 shutout innings last week against Philadelphia.

Quintana's reward is jumping from the last-place Pirates to a pennant race. The Cardinals are three games behind first-place Milwaukee in the NL Central and one game out of the final wild-card spot.

Stratton began the season working near the back end of Pittsburgh's bullpen but struggled at times and found himself being used mostly in non-leverage situations during his final weeks with the Pirates. Stratton, 31, is 5-4 with two saves and a 5.09 ERA this season.

The right-handed Oviedo, 24, is 2-1 with a 3.20 ERA in 14 appearances this year for the Cardinals, with all but one of his appearances coming out of the bullpen.

The 21-year-old Nunez, who can play both third base and first base, hit 17 home runs this season in Double-A.

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