Can Jose Quintana have as big an impact as these 5 traded pitchers?

So far the Jose Quintana trade has worked out just fine for the Cubs. It’s way too early to judge anything from his 12-strikeout, no-walk, 7-inning shutout performance on Sunday, but that’s exactly the shot in the arm the Cubs’ starting pitching needed if they’re going to make a run into the playoffs.

Over the years, several in-season trades of high-profile pitchers have worked exceedingly well for the receiving team, even if good prospects were lost in the deal. Time will tell if Eloy Jimenez and Dylan Cease, the two top prospects the Cubs sent to the White Sox, amount to more than Quintana. But for now, the durable left-hander should fortify the Cubs, who are in win-now mode.

Take a look at five pitchers who had huge impacts on their new teams after in-season trades:

Rick Sutcliffe: Clinging to a slight lead in the NL East in 1984, the Cubs swung a deal with the Cleveland Indians for their right-handed ace, who came to the North Side and nearly pitched a perfect second half. Sutcliffe finished 16-1, won the NL Cy Young and took the Cubs to the playoffs for the first time since 1945. However, with Sutcliffe on the mound, the Cubs suffered a heartbreaking loss to the San Diego Padres in a decisive Game 5 of the NLCS. The Cubs did have to give up prospect Joe Carter in the trade, who played well for the Indians and even better for the Toronto Blue Jays, where he was a five-time all-star and won two World Series rings.

Randy Johnson: The Big Unit dominated the American League during the 1990s, but the Mariners dealt him to the Astros for prospects Freddy Garcia and Carlos Guillen. Johnson was nearly unhittable the rest of the way, going 10-1 and helping the Astros to a 102-win season. But in the playoffs, the Astros scored just two runs in Johnson’s two starts — both losses — and they were eliminated by San Diego in the NLDS. Garcia and Guillen went on to have above average careers.

Cliff Lee: Like Johnson, Lee was a dominant pitcher in the AL before the Cleveland Indians sent him to the National League in a mid-season blockbuster with the Philadelphia Phillies. Lee was 7-4 the rest of the way but really turned it up in the playoffs, where he went 4-0 before the Phils lost to the Yankees in the World Series. The following season, Lee was moved back to the AL in a trade with the Rangers. After going 4-6 in the regular season, Lee kept his perfect playoff record intact, going 3-0 and leading the Rangers to the World Series against the San Francisco Giants. Lee’s playoff mojo ran out, though, as he suffered two losses and the Rangers were defeated.

CC Sabathia: When the Milwaukee Brewers had a shot in 2008 at their first playoff appearance since 1982, they went out and rented Sabathia for half of a season. The Brewers started the big lefty 17 times in 83 days, and he didn’t disappoint. Sabathia was 11-2 with three complete games and a 1.65 ERA. The Brewers broke their playoff drought, but lost to the Phillies in the NLDS.

David Price: As the trade deadline approached in 2015, the Detroit Tigers became sellers, unloading David Price, one of the league’s most dependable veterans, to the Blue Jays. Price went 9-1 in 11 starts with a 2.30 ERA and lifted the Jays, a team that head been under .500 at the All-Star break, into the playoffs. The Jays lost to the Kansas City Royals, the eventual World Series champs, in the ALCS.