November 17, 2023

By Kevin Glew

Canadian Baseball Network

The Cleveland Guardians traded right-hander Cal Quantrill (Port Hope, Ont.) to the Colorado Rockies for minor league catcher Kody Huff earlier today.

The Guardians announced the transaction just after noon E.T.

The Guardians had designated the 28-year-old righty for assignment on Tuesday. Limited to 19 big league starts in 2023 due to a shoulder injury, Quantrill was projected to make approximately $6.6 million in arbitration in 2024.

Quantrill completed the 2023 season with a 4-7 record and a 5.24 ERA in 99 2/3 innings, but he finished strong, registering a 2.76 ERA in his final six starts.

The Rockies are in dire need of starting pitching, so Quantrill should fit nicely into their rotation. Of Rockies’ pitchers who started 10 or more games in 2023, Kyle Freeland had the lowest ERA at 5.03. The Rockies only had two pitchers make 25 or more starts.

Quantrill honed his skills with the Ontario Terriers and the Junior National Team before starring at Stanford University. He was selected eighth overall by the San Diego Padres in the 2016 MLB draft and he played parts of three minor league seasons in their organization before making his big league debut on May 1, 2019. After being employed both as a starter and reliever during his major league tenure with the Padres, Quantrill was dealt to the Guardians on August 31, 2020, as part of a package for right-hander Mike Clevinger.

In 2021, he began the season in the Guardians’ bullpen but joined the starting rotation on May 31 and proceeded to go 8-2 with a 3.12 ERA in 22 starts. He was even better in 2022 when he led the Guardians and set a career-high with 15 wins (fourth in the American League). The 6-foot-3 right-hander also hurled a career-best 186 1/3 innings and posted a 3.38 ERA. His 32 starts were tied for the second-most by an American League starter.

In exchange for Quantrill, the Guardians receive Huff, a 22-year-old catching prospect. He was the Rockies’ seventh round selection in the 2022 MLB draft after he played three years at Stanford. Huff spent 2023 with Single-A Fresno and hit .262 with five home runs and 36 RBIs in 86 games. Defensively, he caught 29 runners attempting to steal against him and was named the California League Defensive Catcher of the Year by Baseball America.