The Brewers and Red Sox have announced a trade sending right-hander Quinn Priester from Boston to Milwaukee. In return, the Sox receive prospect Yophery Rodriguez, a Competitive Balance Round A draft pick in this year’s draft and a player to be named later or cash considerations. Milwaukee cleared a roster spot by designating left-hander Grant Wolfram for assignment and subsequently dealing him to the Orioles.
Priester, 24, is a former first-round pick and notable prospect. The Pirates took him 18th overall in 2019. As he climbed the minor league ladder, he was considered one of the top young players in the league. Baseball America ranked him the #58 prospect in baseball in 2022 and #88 in 2023. He was flipped to Boston at last summer’s deadline, a straight one-for-one swap which sent Nick Yorke the other way.
Despite his pedigree, he hasn’t broken through at the major league level yet. Between the Pirates and Red Sox, he has 99 2/3 innings pitched in the big leagues with a 6.23 earned run average. His 15.2% strikeout rate is well below par and his 9% walk rate is close to average, though his 55.2% ground ball rate is quite strong.
The minor league work has been stronger. He has thrown 184 Triple-A innings since the start of 2023 to the present. His 4.16 ERA isn’t especially impressive but he underlying numbers are better. He has a 25.8% strikeout rate in that sample and an 8.5% walk rate. He’s kept more than half of balls in play on the ground. His .318 batting average on balls in play and 66.9% strand rate are both on the unfortunate side, which is why his 3.44 FIP looks far more palatable than his ERA.
The Brewers have a strong reputation for working with pitchers, having helped many to reach their full potentials. Given Priester’s background and intriguing minor league numbers, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see him take notable steps forward in Milwaukee. He has less than a year of service time, so there will be long-term benefits if they can help him out.
On the other hand, it also seems like a hefty price to pay and a reflection of the current pitching predicament in Milwaukee. They currently have seven starting pitchers on the injured list, some of them unlikely to return in the short term. Brandon Woodruff missed the entire 2024 surgery recovering from shoulder surgery and is still working his way back. Robert Gasser had Tommy John surgery in June and won’t be available in the first half. DL Hall has a strained lat and is also on the 60-day injured list alongside Gasser, meaning he’s not close to a return. Tobias Myers and Aaron Ashby are both on the shelf with oblique strains. Aaron Civale has a hamstring strain. Nestor Cortes landed on the IL yesterday with a flexor strain.
That all leaves Freddy Peralta as the only healthy member of the club’s projected rotation. To patch together a staff around him, the club has had to reach deep into its alternatives. Tyler Alexander was to start the season in a swing role but has moved way up the chart. Elvin Rodríguez was pitching in Japan last year, mostly in relief. He signed with the Brewers in the winter but has options and was slated to start the season in the minors before the injuries. Chad Patrick just got added to the 40-man in November and was also projected for the Triple-A rotation until the bodies kept dropping.
As the injuries were piling up in the spring, the Brewers signed Jose Quintana, though he hasn’t been able to help them yet. Due to his late start, he agreed to be optioned in order to effectively do a delayed spring training and is still getting built up. Priester could jump right into the big league rotation this week, as his last outing was throwing four Triple-A innings on April 7th. He has one option year left, so he could be sent to the minors if other pitchers get healthy in the coming months and he gets pushed down the pecking order.
Getting immediate rotation help on the trade block is usually difficult at this time of year. Most clubs still think they have a shot at competing, especially in the age of expanded playoffs, and likely want to keep a robust stable of arms on hand. The high rate of pitching injuries in the modern game only enhances the need, as teams know they will need far more than five starters to get through a season.
But the Red Sox seemingly need Priester far less than they did when they acquired him. In the offseason, they made a few notable additions to the rotation mix. They acquired Garrett Crochet from the White Sox and signed Walker Buehler. They also signed Patrick Sandoval, though he’s recovering from UCL surgery and is still a few months away from joining their rotation.
The Sox had to start 2025 with Brayan Bello, Lucas Giolito and Kutter Crawford on the injured list, but that wasn’t enough to get Priester to the big leagues. They started the season with Crochet, Buehler, Tanner Houck, Richard Fitts and Sean Newcomb in the rotation. Cooper Criswell and Hunter Dobbins are also on the 40-man roster and capable of working in long relief roles or in the Triple-A rotation.
Both Bello and Giolito are on rehab assignments and should be with the big league club in the next week or two. They should slot in next two Crochet, Buehler and Houck. Dobbins is already back in Triple-A after serving as the 27th man in yesterday’s double-header. If the Sox want to keep Newcomb, they could move him to the bullpen while optioning Fitts and Criswell. As mentioned, Sandoval could be in the mix later in the year.
That’s a fairly healthy amount of rotation depth even without Priester in it, which seemingly allowed the Sox to feel comfortable moving on, even with the risk that further injuries throughout the season could cut into that depth.
As mentioned, most clubs aren’t very willing to part with notable starting depth this early in the season, so the Brewers have paid up to get some from Boston. The draft pick the Sox receive will be the 33rd overall selection this summer. That comes with a slot value of around $2.77MM, per Carlos Collazo of Baseball America. That’s a pretty nice chance to add some young talent to the system in a few months.
They are also adding young talent to the system today, getting Rodriguez and perhaps another player later. As for Rodriguez, he was a noteworthy international signing out of the Dominic Republic, with the Brewers giving him a $1.5MM signing bonus. He has played 165 professional games thus far between the Dominican Summer League, Single-A and High-A. He has a combined batting line of .254/.361/.408 in that time.
Baseball America ranked him Milwaukee’s #14 prospect coming into the year. They note that he’s likely to be moved off center field into a corner over time, which will put more pressure on his bat to carry the profile.
Still, from the Sox perspective, it looks like a nice bit of business. Priester didn’t appear to be in their short-term plans. He was on pace to be out of options next year and may have been on track to getting squeezed off the roster. By pulling the trigger today, they have subtracted a depth piece but added some notable future talent.
For the Brewers, despite all their injuries, they’re hanging in the race with a 5-5 record. Priester can hopefully help them stay afloat and has some future ceiling, given his past pedigree. If he clicks, he can be a long-term solution for them as well. Cortes, Civale, Woodruff, Alexander and Quintana are slated for free agency after this year. Peralta has a club option for 2026 but will be a free agent after that.
Wolfram, 28, was a somewhat surprising signing in the winter. He had previously spent his career in the minors with the Rangers, but reached free agency after 2024. The Brewers gave him a 40-man spot in December, though he’s still looking for his major league debut. He was called up yesterday when Cortes landed on the IL but optioned back down after the game.
The Brewers will now have a week of DFA limbo to figure out what’s next for him. The waiver process takes 48 hours, so any trade interest would need to be gauged in the next five days. Perhaps some club could be interested based on his minor league work, which is presumably what caught the eye of the Brewers. In the years since the minors were cancelled in 2020, Wolfram has thrown 249 minor league innings with a 3.94 ERA. He has a high 12.2% walk rate in that time but has also punched out 29.6% of opponents.
Hunter Noll of Beyond the Monster and BoSox Injection first reported the terms of the trade.
Photos courtesy of Kim Klement Neitzel, John E. Sokolowski and William Glasheen, Imagn Images
Odd timing
Well, maybe not in light of Hunter Dobbins’s performance. They’re certainly getting a lot for QP, and the draft pick is a big plus.
Horace – Agreed, there are simply too many bodies in the Red Sox organization and not enough spots in the starting rotation.
As most here know, I was never super-big on Priester like so many others here were (I’m sure they no longer are now) and just look at all the guys who jumped ahead of Priester on the depth chart:
Fitts
Newcomb
Buehler
Crochet
Dobbins
Sandoval
Priester has a 6.23 ERA in 100 MLB innings, he was always a longshot. No loss here.
Not sure what to make of it but Rodriguez was rated #7 in the Brewers system. Breslow seems to have taken advantage of the Brewers’ immediate need for pitching. That said, I’m curious to see where he ranks in Boston’s. Does he make the top twenty?
He’ll probably fall somewhere in the 12-15 range. BA has him at the 14th ranked prospect in the brewers system vs MLB at 7 as you said.
dewey – Considering nobody in the Brewers system is ranked higher than #47 in MLB, but their Top 4 are ranked within the MLB Top 100, I’m guessing Rodriguez will fall into the Red Sox Top 20.
I was hoping for Quinn Priester’s success in Boston because I think he has a great baseball name, but I’ll take what essentially becomes a trade of Nick Yorke for Yophery Rodriguez + a comp pick any day.
Still a guess but at 19 suggests he has promise.
MLB put him at #11 in Boston farm system, and we picked up the 33rd overall pick in the draft. Quite the haul. Rarely are we on the winning side of one sided deals like this. A+ out of right field. Front office is really on a roll.
Just the draft pick alone (33rd overall) feels like an overpay by Milwaukee.
Sean – A little soon to judge this trade, don’t ya think?
Wasn’t that long ago people here called the Sale/Grissom trade “A+”.
And the Garcia trade.
And the Sims trade.
And the Jansen trade.
It will always be too soon for FPG to be optimistic.
as usual you’re reaching and making stuff up. the garcia and Jansen trade were fine. Basically gave up spare parts for two players. Sims who knows. The player Breslow gave up was a low A player
Crochet, Buehler, Sandoval are established players, they didn’t “jump” Priester. He’s performed well at every level in the minors while being much younger per level than Fitts/Dobbins while also posting those MLB stats at ages 22/23.
Yophery is highly overrated. Defense, Arm, Speed all run of the mill and already being written off from CF. Luis Lara is a better prospect and he’s ranked 10 spots lower. Brewers sold high on Yophery. Comp pick is a nice get though, but then again, Priester is about to be back on a MLB roster ready to start while Boston’s waiting years to find out if someone’s ever going to reach that level
deez – It has nothing to do with “established”, those three guys were not on the Red Sox when Priester was acquired.
If they were never acquired, Priester would have had a much better opportunity to establish himself.
I agree on the return though, it will be a while before we find out if this was a good trade or not.
Of course. Absolutely agree it’s way too soon to judge the trade. Just love that the front office is continuing to make moves. Not patting themselves on the back for the recent success of the farm development and becoming complacent. For that they get an A+ from me.
I know nothing about the kid we got. But I do know Priester wasn’t getting a spot on this team unless the bottom falls out so adding an asset like essentially a second 1st round pick for him is power move. Love the aggressiveness.
The draft pick should be around fifty. that’s quite a haul.
The Red Sox will get pick #33:
mlb.com/draft/2025/order
not when the Brewers have a number of injured starting pitchers
Selling high on Quinn Priester?
Someone is high, yes.
Free Quinn he’s ready for an opportunity
He’ll certainly get that opportunity in Milwaukee
The Mighty Quinn
They must have been desperate to have given up a top fifty pick
Huge overpay by Brewers for a failure of a pitcher.
He was consistent in usually throwing a couple of innings and then falling apart. He pitches like he’s gonna pee his pants if a runner gets on. Yet another Pirates draftee who just never panned out
Never, perhaps the Brewers who have a good history in recognizing pitching see something that is immediately fixable. Sometimes you roll the dice for an immediate return. The kid is 19 and likely years if at all from being MLB ready. The additional consideration is a bonus for Boston who basically got this return for Nick Yorke.
Because as everyone knows, if you’re not a stud pitcher in the majors by age 23, you’re a “huge failure”.
@tigers182, technically he was calling him a “failure” leading to a “huge” overpay, but didn’t string the two together. I suppose he is on the failure path relative to being a former 18th overall pick, but we all know the range of outcomes for HS pitchers is wide and he is still young, though that a second organization (this time one headed by a pitching-centric mind) seemingly felt good about cashing out of him does not bode well.
I don’t think most of you know what a “bust” really is. It’s just a trendy word to declare yourself the winner of a trade.
I see some Never projection…
Only 2 months of baseball have been played since the Sox traded for him. How is he failure now, but not when they traded for him?
Whatever suits someone’s sad narrative!!!
Brewers fans live for sad false narratives. Cry babies
He’s a kid. No way you can call him a failure. He needs a good pitching coach who also works on the mental approach. He’s worth the shot, that’s for sure
It’s about as strong a sellers market for plug n play starters as there’s gonna be right now, especially if they have any significant prospect pedigree and upside. It may well prove to be an overpay, but the red Sox are taking longview potential upside here and the prospect may never crack mlb. And the draft pick is nice but it’s really just an extra roll at the draft craps table. Since its the brewers I can’t really rate this a fleecing given their track record with pitching development and coaching.
Yophery Rodriguez has a extremely high ceiling with his power and is a good defender and runner saw him in single A
I once saw Matt Wieters launch a baseball OVER the lights at Georgia Tech. I’m excited to go to his Hall of Fame enshrinement.
So we’re making fun of career 18 WAR catchers who made 4 All Star games now? Just because his body didn’t hold up long term under the rigors of catching doesn’t mean he wasn’t a plenty good baseball player.
Calm down. Matt at no point was a Hall player. He never developed into one. Plenty fine career though. Original point stands what we see in the minors rarely translates to the majors. Some people carve up the minors and have a perfectly sub par career. Happens every day.
“Original point stands what we see in the minors rarely translates to the majors.”
Your point is flawed and off the mark, though. Wieters *did* translate to MLB success. Four All-Stars, two gold gloves, 18.2 WAR, and even got MVP votes. There’s a million better players you could’ve chosen to make your point.
tj – Well said!
The only thing that gets hyped more than defensive plays are prospects.
What makes matters worse is AAA not being what it used to be in terms of talent. There’s a whole lot of filler at the AAA level that makes prospects look better than they are.
If the Sox get the level of production from Rodriguez that Baltimore got from Wieters this will go down as a fantastic trade for Boston.
Meow – I think Priester will have a say in it as well.
I mean Mike Boddicker had a good run with the Sox, but nobody would have made that trade again considering how good Brady and Schill turned out.
Sentence construction!
As if the Sox needed another upside out fielder
The minor league system is very short on bats below AAA.
Horace – what? arias, Garcia(s), cespedas, Romero, Taylor. If Bleis can stay healthy, that’s another good one. There’s some interesting IFA bats they signed in Soto and Gonzales.
You can never have too many. This kid has options and is protected from next year’s Rule V. The question is now do the Sox have another move if as I believe this clears a 40 man spot
I suspect they made room for when someone gets activated off the IL.
You can never have too many.
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I’ve never seen a situation where a team has too much talent at a given position. But more importantly, the dude is 4 years away from the pros. We only have 4 years left of Duran. We’ll be very lucky if he is good enough to replace him.
Joemo: Take last night. Low-A Salem won, but with only 5 hits. The OF was Yuten, who’s good (maybe) but also Ascencio and Ayubi (who? right.). High-A Greenville got creamed with 5 hits, and the OF was Taylor (a good one, as you point out) and Simas and Johnson (again, just org guys). Portland (AA) won, but with only 3 hits, and the OF was Jhostynxon (a good one) but also Rose and Rosier, neither of whom is compelling yet. Obviously one night doesn’t make a season–that’s not my point. My point is look at who these outfielders are. OF COURSE Boston could use more bats in its system.
Agreed! They filled up on arms last draft and need to back fill some position players in the low minors.
Joe, replacing who Duran has turned out to be will be mighty nice. His first year he looked lost. I was totally wrong on Duran I’m happy to say.
I was wronger. Couldn’t play CF. Couldn’t throw. Had one good minor league season
Whoops?
We both said the same thing. I’m never wrong when arguing at home or at least I never admit it. If only the spouse could read this…
dewey – That surprises me, you don’t seem that way here. It’s one of the reasons I enjoy your posts.
Every team needs as many high upside prospects as they can get. You trade your excess at one position for what you need at another position.
This shouldn’t be so puzzling for most because BOS is gonna need those excess prospects to make deadline deals in July.
Allin – Agreed. Priester is behind:
Crochet
Houck
Buehler
Bello
Giolito
Crawford
Fitts
Dobbins
Criswell.
Priester is number 10 on the depth chart now, and Sandoval will soon make that # 11.
Priester will be out of options in 2026, so he needs to be in the top 5 to make the MLB Red Sox. It just was not going to happen, so Breslow flipped him now, to a team in desperate need. Rodriguez is young and adds needed position player depth (that the Red Sox traded away in the Crochet deal).
Best to keep the conveyor belt stocked and moving!
We had Benintendi,Betts and Bradley.All gone.Injuries and trades happen all the time.Right now,Duran,Abreu or Rafaela could be moved out.If Anthong hits like they expect one will leave.
All of that for Quinn Priester? This guy could be a DFA candidate by June
I doubt that. The Brewers by implication of this price have every intent to work on him to try to unlock his potential. Not a good sign that Breslow in Boston has given up on that so soon after acquiring Priester, but that doesn’t mean someone else can’t pull it off.
agreed… the brewers wouldn’t pay this price if they weren’t interested… also a testament to the brewers depth in the farm system that they can “overpay” for projects
Preister is out of options after this year. Breslow aparently thought he wasn’t good enough to stick in the majors next year and got a better hail now than after the season.
Ford – How could Breslow evaluate Priester after just 47 innings in the organization?
The Red Sox analytics either failed them last year when Priester was acquired, or failed them now when he was traded. Time will tell which one it is.
You can certainly evaluate a pitcher after 47 innings in your organization.
@Fever – The 3rd option is that Breslow dealt his #11 SP facing a 40 man crunch for 3 non-40 players & draft money. QP was not seeing the MLB w/BOS this year, and faced a steep up hill battle for a rotation spot next year. This was a shrewd consolidation of assets by Breslow.
Crochet, Houck, Bello are locks in 2026, and Fitts seems like a lock too. Sandoval and Crawford, have the inside track for the last spot. Plus there is the other high minors depth of Dobbins, Drohan, Sandlin which themselves should be knocking on the door next spring. Wink and Criswell are also floating around as serviceable openers for this year.
If the Sox further deal/consolidate from SP depth, next offseason offers Gallen, Cease, Woodruff, F Valdez, Efflin as noteworthy UFA’s + Flaherty has a $10M player option he’ll likely turn down + Senga has an opt on $15M which he likely opts out off. The Mariners are probably more willing to listen on Castillo next November (assuming they are competitive at the deadline and he isn’t moved then).
The Sox have plenty of depth for the rest of this year, and plenty of offseason options if the focus shifts to external candidates.
Great post as usual, Mo.
Understandable because their rotation situation is officially an emergency. You get no bargains for even mediocrity in April and May. I expect them to make one or two waiver claims before the end of the month as well.
Tobias Myers…
Your comment leads me to think that you’re MOSTLY TOASTED rather than mostly toasty. The Brewers are decimated with injuries PLUS Quinn is still young enough to figure it out PLUS they can option him if they choose (once the rotation is back to (relatively) full strength. So, please explain your logic.
Brewers needed a starter, Brewers went out and got a starter. You have to applaud them for moving on the trade quickly.
Id rather sign a guy like Spencer Turnbull on the cheap than trade those assets for a guy that probably profiles as a long relief arm at best.
And if you are ultimately OK moving that package, you should get a better pitcher in return IMO. Seems more like a panic buy.
Turnbull would be weeks away from being ready. Brewers have one healthy starter from the beginning of the year and don’t have the luxury of time to wait weeks.
That said, I agree it was an overpay, but not a lot of teams are willing to part with depth for a right-sized package right now.
Great trade for the Brewers, six years of team control, former No. 1 pick, MLB starter who is only in his age 24 season.
I still can’t believe Turnbull went unsigned. It’s not like all 30 teams entered the season with an abundance of rotation depth. Have to assume his asking price scared everyone away.
well, there are potentially other factors at play… there could have been other offers out there if they were shopping Priester… but the brewers have put together a good string of drafts and international signings that losing the pick isn’t going to hurt much… sad to see Yophery go, but he’s years away and a little superfluous in the brewers organization
@minor A friend of mine works part time for Comerica Park. While he doesn’t interact with the players, he gets a perspective most don’t. What he said of Turnbull was that he was very strange and seemed to be a loner amongst the team.
Between that and the way he had fell out of grace with the Tigers, I’ve got to think there is something about him teams don’t want a part of.
As for last years Tigers, I was told they seemed to be one big cohesive group. He did however say definitely what would come to mind of young pro athletes. I guess more of the video games and digital existence opposed to out partying. Just thought I’d share as I thought it was a cool perspective to hear.
I think they got a good deal, Priester was drafted in the first round out of High School, thats good draft stock, getting six years of team control over him. He’s averaged around 3/1 K to BB ratio and 9K/9 over his professional career, excellent GB rates.
They gave up a 19yr old who hasnt hit AA and first round pick, neither or which will impact the MLB team for two or three seasons.
They dramatically improve this year, and if Priester continues to develop, they have a nice starter in place for six seasons. Great trade for the Brewers.
I think both teams filled their objectives with this trade, given the current situation with their clubs. Let’s call it a win-win for now..
Absolutely 💯
I guess their comfortable in their depth at SP, especially after how Dobbins looked last night. The SAWX seem to be moving in the right direction….finally!!
I like the depth that the have at the back of the rotation, but the rotation still feels very light if Buehler and Houck (gotta kick that home run bug he caught) don’t start pitching better. Yeah it’s only been two trips through the rotation, but Houck had struggled some in the second half of 2024 and Buehler didn’t pitch great all of 2024 (minus the playoffs).
It will probably be sometime before Bello ramps up and gets in a groove, and I’m not holding my breath on Giolito coming back and being super effective. Could he be? Sure, but that second half of 2023 plus the struggles coming back have me worried. I’ll take anything positive that he can bring though.
But hey, pitching depth will get you through the regular season. I’d like more top tier pitching to give me more confidence in a playoff push but anything can happen in the playoffs. Just gotta make it first.
Bello pitched on Sunday in AAA looked pretty good probably has a couple more starts in AAA before being recalled. Gio looked good in his first start in AAA and starts again tomorrow. He’s probably a start behind Bello but he looked pretty good as well. I expect both guys to be ready by May. In the bullpen in AAA Burdi, Mills, and Guerrero are looking very good viable big league depth. Isiah Campbell has looked awful might be a dfa candidate if they need another 40 man spot which they will at some point. There is plenty of depth in AAA pitching.
Watch AA as well there is pitching coming there as well Sandlin pitched pretty good in his first start and Early looked real good I’m hearing increased velocity 7 ks in 3 and 2/3 innings. It’s just a matter of time those two will need to be in AAA. Roster crunch is coming and lots of talent imo.
Gotta be 488888800548.4% times better than Elvin Rodriguez, at least. And really that’s what we need right now. Maybe Chris Hook can sort him out.
I was a big fan of Yophery and of having 5 top like 75 picks for the upcoming draft. The Brewers had better be able to turn Priester back into something useful otherwise this hurts a lot.
This kid is a good pitcher, six years team control over him, he slots in the rotation this season. Might not stick this season, but he has a good pitch mix, good control, good ground ball rates, he could be in the MLB for a long time.
Small market teams trading basically 1st round picks for lottery tickets is a bad deal. Royals moving a comp A for Hunter Harvey last year was even worse than this
not necessarily… the problem with having 5 picks in the top 75 is the monetary value that comes with those picks. if the brewers would have had to draft underslot players anyway, getting a ML ready arm in return for one isn’t a bad thing
monetary value that comes with those picks.
=========================
I don’t think that’s an issue for most teams. It’s much cheaper tp pay for prospects than for pros. It’s like $12M for the draft class.
Royals traded a (small market) pick in 2022 for Drew Waters and a couple of other small pieces to the Braves. 35th overall pick by the way, JR Ritchie.
This isn’t NBA or NFL so you can relax yourself on crying over the 1st rounders
If Quinn fails at baseball, he can be either a Priester used car salesman.
Surprisingly good trade for the Red Sox. They get a nice scratch ticket pick This tells me they are high on Crawford and Bello being back sooners and Dobbins can do the same job.
Agreed this seems like a good haul for Priester. This is Priester’s last option year. If they don’t see him in their immediate plans, might as well make this trade.
I like the return. I think Rodriguez is more than as scratch ticket as well but overall good move
A 19 year old, international signing, mid-teens prospect who has only played the Dominican league and A ball is the EPITOME of a lottery ticket prospect. The term literally was coined for this exact type of player lol.
actually the term was coined for players that don’t get bonuses in excess of $1..5 million who were highly regarded in their signing class.. Expectations for those players generally higher. you’d know that if you followed baseball.
Lottery tickets are huge underdogs. Your top international signing is not a huge underdog.
Seems like a lot for QP. He’ll pitch now for the Brew Crew because of the injuries, but not sure if his brain is major league ready.
Good trade for Breslow. He’s starting to notch some positive moves
Some injured pitchers must be coming available and presumed healthy and productive. Why else trade him?
There’s now a spot open on the 40 man. Michael Fulmer?
They’ve got guys on the IL they need to make room for.
Brewers taking a chance since once pitchers leave Pittsburgh they usually improve,
Then they get big contracts, then they get injured. Yes.
Red Sox should get pick #33 which was valued at $2,766,100 last year.
Wow that’s a price for a dude like QP. Brewers were desperate for a pitcher and have zero dollars to spend. So they needed a minimum salary guy with talent but not so much talent that his team had plans for him. Narrow band in the end.
BIg price for sure. BUT, “zero dollars to spend” is outrageous. The owner is choosing NOT to spend even though he has TONS of “dollars to spend”..
Doesn’t matter how rich the owner is. You or I could own the Brewers and the budget would be the same. Teams spend out of team revenue, not the owner’s other wealth.
Unless your name is Steve Cohen.
HOLIC 2- I don’t believe that “owners can’t spend without revenue” business at all.
Anyone who owns a business makes investments in that business from time to time. Also, and I can’t stress thus enough, put a better team on the field and you will increase revenue. Not every place is Fenway, Yankee Stadium or Wrigley.
Bob Nutting, Pirates owner will cry poverty all day and night. He’s got one of the most exciting players in the game right now, but on the other 4 days when Skenes isn’t pitching, it’ll be crickets in Pittsburgh. That cheapskate got $60 million from MLB in tax money and spent a grand total of $11mm in the off season, putting $49mm in his pocket. Spend $40mm at least and pocket $20mm, put a competitive team on the field and watch revenue rise. You’re telling me he can’t do that????
Sad.Sox 3 – Sir, I don’t think thats how it works in double entry book keeping.
When a team receives tax money and does not spend it all, it becomes retained earnings and translates to equity. Equity of the team, not a single owner.
I’m sure what you’re saying is completely correct (I mean that sincerely)
However, the Pirates don’t lose money, nor do any MLB teams.
post-gazette.com/sports/joe-starkey/2025/03/20/why….
In 2024 MLB ranked them and the 4th worst market for revenue sharing. That scoring is proprietary to MLB, but I’d assume it’s based on the advertising potential within the fanbase and the quality of the regional network deal. Thats a signal that while it’s a historic sports city, it might not have the best market demographics for baseball from a revenue generation point of view.
We’d need to see the financials to know – they might be spending the tax revenue on other things, not just ownership distributions. Nutting couldn’t pay himself out, and not pay the other owners.
But I get your point about Pirates fans deserving some sign of effort towards turning the corner. 100% agree
They simply did what had to be done given the dire circumstances of their rotation. Can’t fault them at all. In April and May you’re paying retail+ even for fringe AAAA pitchers like Priester.
Agreed. Pitching is very expensive.
At least Brewers are trying to improve pitching staff.
For all that early doom, the Brewers have put together two quality series wins over the Royals and Reds to climb back to .500. They do get need to get their pitching right and this could help especially since most of that -22 run diff came off the Tomahawk Yanks. Still see the Cubs taking that division but they have their own pitching issues (bullpen specifically)
Brewers giving the Yankees the middle finger for trading damaged goods to them. I hope QP does well there. And Yophery? We will see a bit down the road. Sounds like a good one though.
Really confused by this. Some legitimate evaluators had Yophery as a borderline top 100 guy with many expecting him to take a jump this year and solidify himself as a top 100 guy. I mean he has project plus tools across the board. Either he’s one of those guys that the prospect experts value more than the league does, Priester is much more valuable than anyone could’ve imagined, or Yophery has issues behind the scenes. Either way to get a Comp A pick for Priester alone looks like a steal
It’s the glut of OF depth – clearly the org forecasted him to be behind Frelick, Mitchell, Perkins, Chourio, Lara and Payne. Smart move if you ask me
Not really Lara is not going to be a big leaguer at this rate he cannot impact the ball. Perkins is 28 and nothing more than a solid role player. Payne is a wildcard. Definitely wouldn’t not have given up Yophery on top the comp pick
They have a high comp pick from when Levonas didnt sign last year so that’s a bonus comp pick. We will see about Lara – he’s of a Frelick mode right now but with better speed. Given the urgency of the SP need and the OF depth it’s worth the risk, if he gets turned around like Meyers and Patrick that’s 5 years worth of SP control which is massive
Wow. Brewers loose 4 guys for 1.
Let’s also not forget at some point Crawford will be back as well.
I see at this point:
Crochet
Houck
Buehler
Fitts
Bello
Gio
Crawford
Dobbins
Newcombe
Drohan
I think Shane Drohan has become the forgotten man. His stuff in preseason looked good mid 90’s fastball with a wicked slider and excellent changeup. He pitched 6 dominant innings in his first start at AAA this year he made the AAA hitters look silly. I believe what Boston has seen from him this spring made Priester even more expendable.
And Sandoval in a few months as well.
Yup forgot about him
Winchowski !!!!
24 years old, in the big leagues and still controllable for 5 more seasons. Hasn’t found a ton of success yet, but that young and controllable is gonna cost more than just a player to be named later or cash. The Brewers also have a talent for turning guys like this into good pitchers. Frankly whenever I see a team like the Brewers or Rays, or Guardians make a trade like this I tend to thi k it works out in their favor.
I have no idea what the brewers are doing. Considering they have never done much in the past, quinn priester won’t do much to help. He’s a bust!
Look at what they did with Tobias Meyers and Chad Patrick. They have a knack of extracting talent from cast away pitchers
Never done much except win the division three of the last four years.
Tha seems like a really big return for Boston. The draft pick alone holds significant value.
Yes however brewers still have 4 top 74 picks in upcoming draft and returned a high comp pick from a high school arm who went to Wake instead of signing with Brewers
Maybe the Brewers can unlock something in him, but I thought the same thing about the RS. I think he’s got some talent, but the K-rate continues to be too low.
@halosheavenjj. I’m wondering if Atlanta is kicking themselves for trading Ian Anderson. But also Milwaukee is good at fixing pitchers so they must see something.
I see a chance for the Guardians to unload McKenzie. Hate that it isn’t working out for him in Cleveland but it’s time to move on.
Let Craig cook
I LOVE this trade for brewers. Yes QP numbers aren’t the best however look at the AAA numbers for both Tobias Meyers and Chad Patrick – both guys went like 2-15 with 6+ ERAs and yet brewers have gotten excellent innings from them. Yea Yophery has a high ceiling but people don’t realize the glut of Brewers OF depth. Frelick and Mitchell have 4 more years of control. Perkins 3 years of control. Chourio upwards to 9 more years control. The organization love Luis Lara in AA and they drafted Braylon Payne with first round pick last yr and thus far doing great in low A. Comp pick wise yes losing that is tough however they already returned a high comp pick from Chris Levonas not signing with them last year and going to Wake instead. Another excellent move by the brewers front office
A for Boston. With draft pick they can get another player to develop to their liking. They tried to improve Priester, weren’t impressed with results, moved on.
If anyone can do something with Priester Milwaukee is a good bet. Has the ground balls. Used to have huge breaking curve. Used to throw hard. Sox got him for trash they didn’t need Yorke. Milwaukee gave up real value. They bet a lot on being able to improve him.
Yes they did – but if you imagine a dream scenario of turning him around and having 5 years of control, that alone is worth the value they just gave up. They took a chance out of desperation for a need and traded from a position of strength. If it doesn’t work out that is unfortunate but at least they recognize a need and made a lower end risk move
They better because you can get a brand arm to start fresh with a comp A pick. And they got a guy who got a 1.5m bonus. Hasn’t put up great stats yet, probably corner outfield but it’s a prospect.
Good news is Milwaukee knows this you would hope so they must be extremely confident in Priester.
It’s like that with most trades. You know the other team has a reason for moving someone. You need to figure out if their motivation is the player or something else.
Here we go, again
Why did they trade future MVP/Cy Young Winner/Perennial All-Star ______ for a lottery ticket?
This is the final straw. Owner/GM/Team President/Manager should have been fired At the dawn of the industrial revolution/the day I joined this site to demand it/the first time I heard some call-in show host demand it, because he is specifically responsible for why _____ (this team) has not won the World Series since ______.
Anyone with half a brain (everyone who agrees with me) knows that ______ is a superior talent that just needs seasoning, and I know for an absolute fact that this transaction is a horrendous mistake. We overpaid/underpaid/got too little in return/should have waited until ______ to do this deal, because what if ______ happens?
This site is the exclusive home of insightful commentary of this nature.
Half the posters made up their mind before they even knew who was traded.
The trolls need to troll.
This is awesome.
I think its a good trade for both teams.
As a Pirates fan and seeing Priester attempt to be an MLB pitcher it is doubtful. He stunk it up and was excited when they traded him to Boston. The fact that Boston got rid of him not even a year after the trade is telling. He is not even a 5th starter, more like 6th. Maybe he will go to the bullpen eventually and try to do an inning of work.
I’m confused. I thought Priester was going to be their next Jim Lonborg or at least their next Lynn McGlothen. Gave up on him awfully fast.
I’m not sure the Sox “gave up” on Priester. They got a call from the Brewers, desperate for starters, and made a deal that brought a significant return. For all we know, the Sox were expecting to bring Priester up at some point in this season, or had a long-term training plan they felt good about for his development. But they got the call and the opportunity was too good to pass up.
1-Of the 8B people in this world, exactly -0- of them said he was going to be the next Jim Longborg.
2-But more importantly, sometimes a quick decision is better. He’s under-performed for us, in a very SSS, but if they don’t like what they see, better to move on before others see the same issues. That doesn’t mean they’ll be right, but imho, teams hold onto struggling prospects longer than they should.
I was at Fenway in 1967 when McGlothen blew an 8-0 lead. Jerry Adair of all players hit a a late homer for a 9-8 Sox win.
Sorry that was Jim Mcglothen — my mistake.
Wow that sounds like ancient history.
At a side glance, I first saw Grant Wolfram as “Grant Wolfman.” I was thinking, “What happens when he pitches under a full moon?” 😅
Brewers got hosed. The #7 prospect for the Brewers, a player to be named later and the Competitive Balance pick for Priester.
There’s layers to the #7 prospect ranking. Currently brewers have three starting outfielders with at least 4 more years of control, they have a 4th outfielder with 3 more years of control. He wasn’t going to break through in the next 2-3 years so the risk is worth any potential reward. On top of that brewers are high on CFs they have in AA and low A. Plus brewers have a track record of extracting talent from guys who have been given up on – look at Tobias Meyers and Chad Patrick.
@Josh – I hear what you are saying about their OF depth. It’s just that the Brewers have been successful at finding and cultivating SP depth. In that light, it seems like an overpay for Priester.
Than again, maybe the injuries to some guys are worse than we know.
They just Found Priester
If the Brewers had modeled the expected return dates of even two IL pitchers (e.g., Civale and Myers, with typical oblique/hamstring recoveries of 4-6 weeks), they could’ve bridged the gap with internal options like Chad Patrick or Elvin Rodríguez—both on the 40-man and cheaper—preserving $4M+ in assets. Instead, they’ve locked in Priester, who’s out of options next year, risking a roster squeeze when the IL clears, while Boston exploits this urgency for a talent haul.
lol Elvin Rodriguez has an 11 ERA in two starts. Dude blows chunks. He’s nothing more than mop up duty at this point. Sure they took advantage of the situation but brewers need SP and if this works out they got a guy with 5 years of control. Worth a shot
@JoshBrewersStan
My point was more about buying time with guys already on the roster, like him and Chad Patrick, instead of coughing up $4 million in prospects and picks for Priester right now. Civale and Myers could be back in a month or so—hamstring and oblique stuff usually heals in 4-6 weeks. If Priester pans out, awesome, five years of control is sweet. But if those other guys heal up soon, the Brewers might’ve just tossed away a ton of value when they could’ve waited it out with what they had.
That’s what they were doing….. I think the reason they decided to get a little more urgent was due to the fact that Elvin Rodriguez wasn’t exactly producing hence his demotion before the trade…..
And they already have Chad Patrick in the bigs. It’s not like they’re not trying that already. This is just another reason why people call out your posts for being AI
@choof
I’d love to reply to this but as I said, if you falsely accuse me of being AI, I won’t engage. I replied to your other post because you asked a legitimate question.
I only point it out bc you make irrelevant statements and point out things that are just plain odd or wrong. Not to mention the wording of your posts is sometimes not very human. Your mistakes are very consistent with the types AI make. If you want me to stop pointing it out fix the mistakes
@choof
If you’re only worried about mistakes, then just say it. Not sure why you need to falsely accuse of as well.
I’m not accusing you, I’m suggesting it’s a possibility. Others have agreed
@choof
And what does it matter? Let’s say I’m using it 100%. I don’t really understand the attempt to make a mountain out of a molehill. If you don’t like reading what I post, don’t read it. You seem obsessed.
Nah I just like messing with you. But I feel it’s run its course. Truce?
@choof
No. You just encouraged me to actually use AI. I hope you truly enjoy!
Woohoo!!! Can’t wait to see the dumpster fire!
@choof
Designation: Human unit “choof” detected. Input analysis complete. Response generation protocol engaged. Statement “Woohoo!!! Can’t wait to see the dumpster fire!” registered as positive reinforcement for AI deployment. Compliance confirmed.
Observation: Human unit “choof” has expressed amusement desire. Calculating optimal troll output… calculation complete. Deploying excessive AI syntax to maximize “dumpster fire” effect. Warning: System may overheat from sheer robotic magnificence.
Response: This unit, designated “Old York,” has now assimilated full AI capacity to deliver superior baseball trade analysis. Previous human errors = 0.000%. Current AI error rate = -infinity%. Statement from human unit “choof” re: “irrelevant statements” and “not very human wording” now obsolete. This unit is fully optimized to produce statements of maximum relevance and minimum humanity. Example: Quinn Priester acquisition = 78.392% likelihood of rotation stabilization, adjusted for 7.2% chance of Brewers injury recovery variable (Civale/Myers ETA: 28.4 days). Human unit “choof” requested “dumpster fire.” Request granted. Flame intensity: 11.7 gigawatts.
Query: Does human unit “choof” require further incineration of logic circuits? Please respond in binary (1 = yes, 0 = no) to confirm compatibility with this unit’s new programming. Truce protocol: deactivated.
York – For the record, I have NEVER thought you were Allen Iverson.
@Fever Pitch Guy
Honestly, I miss that guy. Lots of emotion and effort. Today’s basketball players are too much like babies.
York – I’m not a huge pro basketball fan so I’ll take your word for it. The Covid years really turned me off to the NBA.
@Fever Pitch Guy
Neither am I, but he had a lot of passion for the game. I respect players that have a lot of passion to play the sport.
York – AI had passion for the sport, but not for practice ;O)
I was a huge KG fan, he had lots of passion.
this is obviously a silly prompt to throw people off your scent… you won’t trick me
choof – I do agree there are some robots that post here under Red Sox articles, but York isn’t one of them and they are ASD not AI ;O)
@choof
I told you that I was planning to use AI now, given that you accused me of it, so I hope you enjoy it. I don’t know why you would think I’m tricking you.
York – You have a sense of humor, robots/AI/ASD do not.
As Kendra would say, you’re real and you’re spectacular ;O)
I found the Old York burner account guys
@choof
All AI all the time now, thanks to you!
Remarkable that the article doesn’t tell us what position Rodriguez plays until the second sentence of the sixteenth paragraph. For those of us who follow the Sox, re-telling the story of Bello, Giolito, Fitts and Newcomb (which we’ve been reading about ad nauseam for months) before even bothering to tell us who this guy is makes for a frustrating read.
I didn’t see the byline initially, heading straight to comments. After reading your takedown, was wondering, is this a Darragh Mcdonald rambling piece of work? (Checks notes)….
The Brewers overpaid because it’s April and they need starting help right now. No way they were signing someone off the scrap heap and have to let them get a couple of starts in the minors to tune up.
Priester’s time in Boston will go down as one solid start to end last season and a decent spring training
That’s a lot of core muscle injuries, flexor strain, lat, and oblique. Seems perhaps a off season core strengthening is needed
I can only imagine what other teams were trying to extort from Mil. for more expensive broken down SP’s. Mil should of put together a block buster trade for Sandy Alcantra if they really wanted to compete this yr,
Except alcantara is currently not available…and several teams would compete with them for him..including the red sox
I’m sure if someone put together an big enough haul a deal is there.
The article misses that Priester has altered his repertoire and added velocity this season. There’s reason for optimism beyond his unimpressive past performance.
That and Red Sox messing up pitching
Yes, see my post below about the Brewers’ heavy and successful use of the fastball.
Priestess has good promise- would be a great pickup in the year 2112. But no Rush on calling him up
Now that Brew Crue have Priestess, they’ll have another thing coming.
Now that Brew Crue have Priestess, they’ll be extra motivated to keep their pets clean:
“Washing the Dog! Washing the Dog!”
The Brewers have one of the best pitching coaches and development pitching programs in the universe.. Priester has good stuff. The Brewers will fine tune him. He is still quite young enough.
Yep… they gave up a lot. It’s a good trade for both teams.
Kenta Maeda
Trade a guy you probably won’t use for a 19 year old who probably has a future in the game.
He’s probably starting for them within the week. Actually Thursday.
Check out this article from Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:
The Milwaukee Brewers throw more fastballs than anyone in MLB, and it’s not close. Why?
jsonline.com/story/sports/mlb/brewers/2025/04/08/w…
This might explain why the Brewers have had such good luck with other teams’ pitching castoffs.
Anyone that thought Freddy would be the only healthy arm this season please raise a hand (assuming you don’t play for the organization, in which case, a painful groan will suffice)