Red Sox get Priester from Bucs for 2020 1st-rounder Yorke

BOSTON -- In chief baseball officer Craig Breslow’s third trade in the last four days, the Red Sox dealt from a position of strength (middle infield depth in the Minors) for a position of weakness (upper Minors starting pitching depth).

Infielder/outfielder Nick Yorke (Boston’s No. 6 prospect and first-round Draft selection in 2020) was dealt to the Pirates in exchange for right-hander Quinn Priester (a first-round pick by Pittsburgh in ‘19).

TRADE DETAILS
Red Sox get: RHP Quinn Priester
Pirates get: INF/OF Nick Yorke (Red Sox No. 6 prospect, per MLB Pipeline)

While Priester was pitching in the big leagues at the time of the trade, the Red Sox optioned him to Triple-A Worcester once the trade was made official.

"In Quinn, we see a young starting pitcher with a ton of potential," said Breslow. "He throws strikes and misses and keeps the ball on the ground, which is a good place to start when seeking rotation pieces. It hurts to give up a player as talented as Nick, but we saw upper-level middle infielders as an area where we have a lot of good players."

Priester, 23, has a 6.46 ERA with 67 strikeouts in 94 2/3 innings in the Majors with the Pirates. He ranked among Pittsburgh's top five prospects as recently as 2023, and he has a 3.41 ERA with 380 strikeouts in 366 1/3 Minor League innings.

Pitching depth in the upper Minors has been a frequent issue for the Red Sox in recent years, as talented arms like Tanner Houck, Brayan Bello and Kutter Crawford worked their way through the farm system and into the club’s rotation.

Priester was in Pittsburgh’s rotation for a six-turn run from April 19 through June 2, going 0-5 with a 4.83 ERA. His last four appearances for the club came in relief, culminating in a tough outing on Saturday, when he gave up five hits and five runs over four innings against the D-backs.

The Red Sox like the under-the-hood numbers.

For example, Priester ranks in the 93rd percentile of MLB in ground-ball rate (55.5%), as well as the 91st percentile in barrel rate (4.5%) and 73rd in walk rate (6.5%). In addition to his 10 outings with Pittsburgh this season, Priester has made seven starts for Triple-A Indianapolis, going 3-1 with a 3.21 ERA (12 ER/33.2 IP), 36 strikeouts and seven walks, while allowing two home runs.

Per Baseball Savant, Priester features a five-pitch arsenal that includes a sinker, slider, four-seamer, curveball and changeup. His fastball has averaged 93.0 mph this season.

Priester has another Minor League option in 2025, which makes him more valuable.

There’s a chance he surfaces in Boston at some point this season.

“[Just] keep adding arms, understanding where we’re at and where we're going to be,” said Red Sox manager Alex Cora. “He has an intriguing arm, good stuff.”

Yorke, 22, was the No. 17 overall Draft pick in 2020, and he has a .277/.359/.437 slash line in 370 Minor League games, reaching Triple-A for the first time (.898 OPS) this year.

“I think what Yorkie did this year helped us to accomplish [this trade],” said Cora. “In the offseason, a lot of people outside our doors gave up on him, and he put in the work, and he's relevant again. He had a great season. He’s a good player.

“But obviously where we’re at, roster wise, and within the organization, this is something that we had to take advantage of, in a sense. Much like everybody else, we’ve got to get him in the strike zone. If we do that, we're going to have a good one.”

Breslow kicked off trade season by getting veteran lefty starter James Paxton from the Dodgers for Minor League infielder Moises Bolivar on Friday. A day later, the Sox traded Minor League infielders Cutter Coffey and Eddinson Paulino, and Minor League righty Gilberto Batista to the Blue Jays for catcher Danny Jansen.

With the Red Sox one game behind the Royals for the third American League Wild Card spot entering Monday’s action, Breslow and his staff were still looking to upgrade the club, most notably in the bullpen.

“They're working,” said Cora. “They're working hard.”