Badly in need of a starting pitcher, the St. Louis Cardinals on Monday night acquired left-hander Jose Quintana from the Pittsburgh Pirates.
St. Louis also received reliever Chris Stratton as part of the deal, while sending Johan Oviedo and Malcom Nunez back to Pittsburgh.
Quintana, 33, had bounced around and battled ineffectiveness the previous two seasons before finding his footing with Pittsburgh this year. Ever reliant on command and control, Quintana has looked like the pitcher of his prime, throwing 103 innings of 3.50 ERA baseball with 89 strikeouts and 31 walks.