Brewers Video
The Milwaukee Brewers aren't any less worried about their starting rotation and its myriad injury problems than their fans are. They proved that Monday morning, trading outfield prospect Yophery Rodriguez and a pick in Competitive Balance Round A in July's MLB Draft to the Boston Red Sox in exchange for right-handed starting pitcher Quinn Priester. It's an unvarnished response to losing not only Tobias Myers and Aaron Ashby during spring training, but Aaron Civale and Nestor Cortes since the beginning of the season.
While the team might hope they'll get Civale and Myers back soon, it's unlikely that they'll get substantial help from Cortes, Ashby or DL Hall before the latter part of May. Jose Quintana will join their rotation this weekend in Arizona, but that still left too many innings uncovered at the big-league level. By trading for Priester, they're stopping the gap with a former first-round pick who once carried considerable prospect sheen, but who has now been involved in two "change-of-scenery" trades in nine months.
Priester, 24, was the Pirates' first-round pick in the 2019 MLB Draft. He made national top-100 prospect lists in multiple preseason cycles, but his stuff didn't progress the way scouts hoped, and minor injury problems kept his inning counts low even as he tried to gain polish and ascend the minor-league ladder. He finally reached the major leagues in 2023, but has not found success there in parts of two seasons. Last July, the Pirates traded him to Boston for fellow former top prospect Nick Yorke.
However, Priester has made some interesting adjustments this spring, which seem to have caught the Brewers' eye. He's added a cutter, largely installing it in the stead of his unimpressive four-seam fastball, and he's deepened his arsenal of breaking stuff by sprinkling in a sweeper that has flashed plus. Though he's only appeared for Triple-A Worcester, the presumption here is that he'll slot into the big-league picture almost as soon as he enters the Brewers organization.
To get hold of Priester, rather than settling for standard waiver-wire fodder, the Brewers parted with Rodriguez, an intriguing (though far-off) outfield prospect with multiple tools that could end up above average. They'll also surrender a chunk of what was one of the league's deepest troves of draft capital, sending the Sox a pick that will fall inside the top 40 overall. It's a hefty price to pay, but the Crew are clearly convinced that Priester is poised to reach another level with the adjustments he's made this year—and they clearly feel a great deal of urgency to upgrade their pitching depth.
It's hard not to cast this as a disappointing development, because the team's offseason activities (limited though they were) all tried to ensure that this wouldn't be necessary. Bringing in Cortes, Quintana, Tyler Alexander, Grant Anderson, and Grant Wolfram to supplement a pitching staff that already figured to work Brandon Woodruff back into the mix after winning a second straight division title, the front office surely anticipated being able to wait longer and move more measuredly than this. As it is, they're rolling the dice on a talented and evolving hurler, but at a steeper price than they would have liked to be forced to pay at such an early date.
Follow Brewer Fanatic For Milwaukee Brewers News & Analysis
-
1
Recommended Comments
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now