With a little more than a day remaining before the July 30 MLB trade deadline, the Red Sox made a move to bolster their pitching staff, potentially looking ahead to the future.
On Monday afternoon, it was announced that the Red Sox traded infield prospect Nick Yorke to Pittsburgh in exchange for 23-year-old right-handed pitcher Quinn Priester.
The #RedSox today acquired RHP Quinn Priester from the Pittsburgh Pirates, in exchange for minor league INF/OF Nick Yorke.
Boston has optioned Priester to Triple-A Worcester.
— Red Sox (@RedSox) July 29, 2024
Priester, selected by the Pirates in the first round of the 2019 draft, was ranked as Pittsburgh’s No. 4 prospect in 2020 and reached as high as No. 58 on Baseball America’s top-100 prospect list in 2021.
Despite his 3.41 ERA across multiple minor league levels, Priester has struggled in the majors, recording a 6.46 ERA in 94.2 innings over two seasons and was recently transitioned to the Pirates’ bullpen.
Yorke, 22, was the Red Sox’s first-round pick in 2020. Like Priester, he also featured on Baseball America’s prospect rankings, peaking at No. 31 before the 2022 season.
Over four minor league seasons in Boston’s system, Yorke has posted a .277 batting average with a .795 OPS. At Triple-A Worcester in 2024, he has shown improved performance. Since his promotion from Double-A Portland in June, Yorke has hit .310 with six home runs in 38 games, resulting in an .898 OPS.
