Cal Quantrill's emergence as Rangers ace sets up tough offseason decisions

Cal Quantrill, whom the Texas Rangers signed to a minor-league deal this past offseason, has surprisingly emerged as the club's ace. Rangers media members and broadcasters voted Quantrill the team's Player of the Month for August after he posted a 1.45 ERA and a 0.84 WHIP with 29 strikeouts over 31 innings.

His success continued into early September, as Quantrill threw seven shutout innings against the AL-best Tampa Bay Rays on Thursday night, allowing just two hits and two walks while collecting five strikeouts on 95 pitches. At this point, the Rangers cannot justify taking Quantrill out of the rotation even when Eovaldi and Leiter return.

Quantrill began the season with Triple-A Round Rock. The only reason he is in the Rangers' rotation right now is that Nathan Eovaldi and Jack Leiter are on the injured list. Texas selected Quantrill's contract in mid-April, but he pitched out of the bullpen until late June.

The Rangers finished Friday two games behind the Cleveland Guardians for the final Wild Card spot and three games behind the Houston Astros for first place in the American League West with a 70-72 record. Quantrill has proved he deserves to start in the postseason if the Rangers make it.

Rangers should strongly consider re-signing Cal Quantrill

Quantrill's emergence as the Rangers' ace could lead to some tough offseason decisions. Texas may be interested in bringing the right-hander back since he has carried the rotation lately. But by re-signing Quantrill, a young Rangers arm would be left out of the Opening Day rotation.

If the Rangers can get Quantrill back, they should. Eovaldi and Leiter's injuries proved the importance of starting rotation depth. Still, bringing Quantrill back would mean one key young starter would be off the Opening Day rotation.

Jacob deGrom and Nathan Eovaldi are shoe-ins to crack the Rangers' 2027 Opening Day rotation, and both veterans have no-trade clauses.. If the Rangers add Quantrill to the mix, either Kumar Rocker, Jack Leiter, or MacKenzie Gore would miss the cut. Also, Cody Bradford would have a much tougher time making the rotation.

That would leave these younger arms in a tough spot. Gore seems to have turned a corner, posting a 2.53 ERA since August 1. Still, inconsistency has marred his season, and things have been worse for Rocker and Leiter. However, controllable starting pitching, even arms who have been inconsistent, has proven to be a valuable commodity on the trade market.

Leiter is under team control through 2030, while Rocker has one more year, not hitting free agency until after 2031. It's possible that Texas could swap one of these once-promising arms for either a haul of prospects or a big leaguer who better fills an area of need. Of course, dealing too much depth away could leave the staff in a precarious situation.

The other option is to convert one or both to relievers and hope that their stuff plays up out of the 'pen. They both have live arms, so the logic is there.

Hopefully, Texas is willing to spend the money to re-sign Quantrill. Creating rotation competition wouldn't hurt. Rocker, Leiter, and Gore haven't exactly proved they're consistent. Given how much the Rangers surrendered to acquire Gore, they may be more inclined to cut either Rocker or Leiter from the Opening Day rotation if they re-sign Quantrill. Whoever misses the cut could either slot into the bullpen or begin the season with Triple-A Round Rock.

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