Playing in the hitter friendly confines of Coors Field, the Colorado Rockies are always in need of pitching. In their latest attempt to rebuild their rotation, the Rockies have acquired Cal Quantrill in a trade with the Cleveland Guardians.

Colorado traded away catcher Kody Huff to acquire Quantrill, via Bob Nightengale of USA Today. The Guardians had designated Quantrill for assignment with his estimated arbitration earnings sitting around $7 million.

Cleveland decided to move on from Quantrill due to his horrid 2023 season. Over his 19 starts, the right-hander held a 4-7 record with a 5.24 ERA and a 58/35 K/BB ratio. But while he may be coming off of a tough season, the Rockies are taking a bet on what Quantrill has shown in the past.

In 2022, Quantrill won a career-high 15 games while pitching to a 3.58 ERA and a 128/21 K/BB ratio; the strikeouts were a new career-high. A year prior, Quantrill set his career-best ERA at 2.89, striking out 121 batters over 149.2 innings pitched.

This past season, Colorado did not have a pitcher who threw 100+ innings hold an ERA lower than five. Kyle Freeland led all starters at 5.03. If the Rockies want to contend again, figuring out their pitching rotation will be crucial.

Cal Quantrill will be the first step in that rebuild. While last year's numbers will cause some hesitation with Quantrill, Colorado is willing to take a chance. If he can revert to his 2021-2022 numbers, the Rockies will have started their offseason with a shrewd move that could jumpstart their rebuild. Now it's up to Quantrill to prove the team smart for their gamble.