Brewers trade for RHP Quinn Priester

[Jim Goulart]

Just a moderator note --

For now, for archival reaction to this trade, we have directed visitors of the Minor League Forum to this thread to discuss all aspects of this deal. So don't be surprised if some posts appear discussing impact on the Timber Rattlers or overall minor league outfield depth. Within a day or so (by the time Wednesday AM's Link Report rolls out), the minor league aspects and implications will have made their way more fully to the Minor League Forum.

Thanks for reading!

[Joseph Zarr]

12 minutes ago, Frisbee Slider said:

What are the odds Yophery, comp pick or PTBNL provides more than 1 WAR in big leagues? 70% chance?

That's Yophery, comp pick and PTBNL...

Man, I have to say this trade absolutely bums me out. I pair it with their silly choice to leave Smith unprotected. Now, you lose a promising advanced hitter at 19 years of age in High-A (lotto ticket who looked 10x more comfortable at the dish to start 2025) and $3 Million in slot space plus the pick slot and a PTBNL?! AND cash?! The Brewers legitimately were sitting on the precipice of being able to manipulate and control the draft to their liking. They just gave that away. I know there are injuries piling up and you can't account for that but they've also made some head-scratching decisions before this played out that also helped lead them down this road. This doesn't even get into their target in this trade...which is also quite questionable.

I need more coffee with a dash of cope.😅 I mean I understand Yophery being the headliner - that's a fine piece of exchange between the two teams. Red Sox get an Advanced A hitter at 19 years who is very well put together and has some upside. BUT, then tossing in that draft flexibility. That's a major loss. You can replace a player. You have an incredibly deep OF Int'l Class this year, ostensibly. You also have a Jose Anderson down in Arizona and a Braylon Payne. You can't replace the draft mobility and manipulation purse. Ugh.

[KCBrewerfan34]

Is there a cost saving angle to this deal? Trading that Comp A pick is ridiculous. This draft is extremely important to stock our system with arms. Ugh 

[Jopal78]

5 minutes ago, Frisbee Slider said:

What are the odds Yophery, comp pick or PTBNL provides more than 1 WAR in big leagues? 70% chance?

Take a look at the Competitive Balance Picks the Brewers have had the last ten years: Nathan Kirby, Mario Feliciano, Tristen Lutz, Micah Bello are all out of organized ball with little to zero mlb playing time. 2B/SS Robert Moore was traded for Oliver Dunn and Tyler Black is spinning his wheels in AAA. 
 

The track record isn’t great for Competitive Balance picks working out for Milwaukee. 
 

Hard to say it’s not fair getting an MLB ready pre-arbitration eligible former first round pick starting pitcher for a draft pick, a 19 year old kid in high A and a PTBNL which is likely tied to Priester’s contributions/performance 
 

 

[jay87shot]

I am in the same place as most of you, Yoph, a comp A, and PTBNL seems like to much, Priester has some upside and as others have mentioned young controllable pitching is hard to come by. For me that comp A pick (3 million slot) is a borderline top 100 prospect,  maybe not right away but at some point I expect someone drafted 32 or so to be a top 100 prospect. I give this like a D, if the ptbnl isn't anyone noteworthy (my guess is since it is a ptbnl or cash it isn't a valuable prospect option). My biggest issue is that I don't see him being notably better than Misi, Henderson, CarRod, Patrick, Gasser, Ashby, or Hall and we gave up to big upside pieces.

On Priester, the groundball rate is impressive but taking a deep look at the rest it is kind of meh. It really looks similar to Carlos Rodriguez repitiore with 5 pitches, 93 mpg average fastball (maybe developing a 6th/cutter). It is weird to me that he gets a decent chase rate (72nd percentile) but only strikes out 14.9% (2nd percentile), probably getting a lot of grounders out of the zone. I can see him being a guy our organization can improve a bunch if we can add a mph or 2 and tweak small parts of his pitch repertoire there is good upside but it seems like a panic move for a guy who like likely be back in the minors in a month when our rotation is back to near full strength.

[liveforoctober]

As someone mentioned earlier, it also bums me out because our AAA arms must not be options right now? We don't like them enough to give them a chance before trading away all of that?

 

[jay87shot]

4 minutes ago, KCBrewerfan34 said:

Is there a cost saving angle to this deal? Trading that Comp A pick is ridiculous. This draft is extremely important to stock our system with arms. Ugh 

No, the 3 million for a comp A pick is some real world saving but I would assume the prospect cost of that pick is way more valuable.

[liveforoctober]

Going to need Quinn to go 2-0 against the Cubs this year to make this feel ok.

[Outlander]

The Brewers are going to be losing a ton of starting pitching this off season. Wile many don't like the trade I think this trade could work well in the short term and long term. They likely don't make this trade if they didn't have the need but it is nice to have a young starting pitcher controlled for many years, perfect timing.

[Brian]

58 minutes ago, endaround said:

I think its more panic than prospect shopping.

That is the first thought that crossed my mind, but other teams know when your in a jam. 

[narwhalattack]

What is it with this team burning prospects and draft picks for uninspiring pitchers? You’d think we would’ve learned after trading away Reese Olson for Daniel Norris.

[nate82]

3 minutes ago, Brian said:

That is the first thought that crossed my mind, but other teams know when your in a jam. 

This isn’t as big as some think it is.  
 

As for this trade I don’t like the trading of the comp A pick but Rodriguez isn’t a huge loss and most PTBNL are nothing major in terms of talent.

To me Rodriguez was probably always going to be traded at some point as I don’t and didn’t see a clear path for him to the majors in the Brewers organization.  Priester definitely has a clear path to the majors and probably has a starting rotation spot right now.

[Oxy]

Is Tyler Black better/more valuable than Nick Yorke?

Seems like Black for Priester would have been more tolerable than this haul.

[Brian]

2 minutes ago, Oxy said:

Is Tyler Black better/more valuable than Nick Yorke?

Seems like Black for Priester would have been more tolerable than this haul.

Maybe his fractured hand factored into it cuz he will be out for another 5-6 weeks. 

[sveumrules]

1 minute ago, Oxy said:

Is Tyler Black better/more valuable than Nick Yorke?

Seems like Black for Priester would have been more tolerable than this haul.

Red Sox positionals are stacked at MLB with Mayer/Anthony chilling in AAA as depth.

Between Yoph & the Comp pick looks like BOS was prioritizing future value over any kind of present need.

[Oxy]

I didnt necessarily think that the Sox would take Black...it was just an exercise in trade value...the Sox got Priester last year for Yorke, and it seems like Priesters value increased since then despite losing another option year and lack of success at the MLB level...

[StearnsFTW]

Don't like it.  Would be completely fine with Rodriguez/cash, but the pick hurts as pretty much everyone has mentioned.

I trust the front office though so am moving forward with an open mind.

[biedergb]

42 minutes ago, Joseph Zarr said:

Man, I have to say this trade absolutely bums me out. I pair it with their silly choice to leave Smith unprotected

 

37 minutes ago, jay87shot said:

I am in the same place as most of you, Yoph, a comp A, and PTBNL seems like to much,

Boy, does it just seem that the Front office is beginning to loose it's "edge"

Maybe it was a Stearns thing, and Matt Arnold & co did OK the first off season because of the in house knowledge, and now they are more over-reacting or panicking, or just not making the moves. 

The Burnes trade seemed pretty meh, and Ortiz is good D, and still trying to see if he can have consistent offense, otherwise Hall has been not available for 2 seasons now. Burke could be a key piece.

The Williams deal looks even worse with a limited upside Durbin, and Cortes is inconsistent and now injured.

Otherwise, this trade looks pretty poor since they were not supposed to need to panic for a SP so soon, and gave up on a talented OF prospect as well as the pick, AND a PTBNL. 

Plus losing Shane Smith for essentially Connor Thomas was just a complete head scratcher, and started to make me question the front office

[MoreTrife]

Can anyone give a summary of the Priester? Starter or relief? ptiches? AAA?

[Thurston Fluff]

21 minutes ago, Outlander said:

The Brewers are going to be losing a ton of starting pitching this off season. Wile many don't like the trade I think this trade could work well in the short term and long term. They likely don't make this trade if they didn't have the need but it is nice to have a young starting pitcher controlled for many years, perfect timing.

That's what I was thinking. It also allows us to trade one or more of the guys we'll be losing if things go the right way. In the chips fall right, some of our veteran starters on the last year of a contract get traded at the trade deadline. If they don't, then we have what we'd have had before this trade. I'm glad we don't have to go with Mizz now. While he's a decent prospect his walk rate is still a concern. It's best to let him work it out before his major league clock starts ticking. I want his best years in the majors. It seems like waste to use one of those years because we need him even despite him not being fully ready.

[narwhalattack]

The FO better be certain that they have something special in Priester, because the draft pick by itself is a hefty loss. So far, there are at least three pitchers (Claudio, Norris, Hall) who would fall under the “They traded WHAT for this guy?!” category.

[sveumrules]

2 minutes ago, MoreTrife said:

Can anyone give a summary of the Priester? Starter or relief? ptiches? AAA?

This interview from spring gives a pretty good summary.

“The cutter is getting better, but more than anything it’s been the velocity piece,” Priester said of his recent developmental strides. “We’re trying to see that trend upwards, and hold throughout games. I want to be 96-plus with the sinker, and then let everything else complement that pitch.”

 

Priester pointed to the change of scenery when asked if he truly feels ready to become a consistent big-league starter.

“I definitely do,” he said. “I’ve had a lot of experience the past two years, parts of them in the big leagues, and since the transition — being traded over here — I’ve been helped a lot. I’ve been encouraged to dive into the things I’m really good at. I’ve been encouraged to not change as much. That kind of reasoning — a lot of can-dos — has resulted in some freedom on the mound. That’s where I feel I can thrive. I’m kind of seeing it all come together.”

[Team Canada]

5 minutes ago, MoreTrife said:

Can anyone give a summary of the Priester? Starter or relief? ptiches? AAA?

Front page article here: 

 

Definitely coming to start.

[Jim Goulart]

Detailed perspective from last December:

 

[Jim Goulart]