Another reclamation project who fits the Brewers’ mold just became available

The Milwaukee Brewers love themselves a good reclamation project.

As one of the best developmental organizations in baseball, particularly when it comes to starting pitching, the Brewers are notorious across the league for turning broken starting pitchers into quality big leaguers.

Look no further than 25-year-old Quinn Priester, who was a first-round pick by the Pittsburgh Pirates in the 2019 MLB draft, but is already with his third professional organization. Priester debuted with the Pirates in 2023 and struggled to the tune of a 7.74 ERA. He was traded to the Boston Red Sox during the 2024 regular season, but only made one start in the big leagues after the trade.

On April 7 of this year, Priester was traded once again. Boston gave up on the project and cashed in their chips for outfield prospect Yophery Rodriguez, a player to be named later, and a draft pick. The Brewers took some heat for the trade at the time, but the organization’s ability to develop Priester has GM Matt Arnold looking like a genius.

Quinn Priester is 13-2 with a 3.25 ERA in 152.1 innings this season. He is one of the best young starting pitchers in all of baseball, and under club control with Milwaukee through 2030.

With any luck, the Brewers will be able to repeat this reclamation project model in the future, and the perfect candidate to follow in Priester’s footsteps just became available.

Blue Jays cut bait with former first-round pick Alek Manoah

The Toronto Blue Jays designated starting pitcher Alek Manoa for assignment on Wednesday, removing him from the team's 40-man roster. GM Ross Atkins said that the move “came down to a roster crunch” and Toronto “feeling like it was the best decision to hold depth and support the staff as we push forward into very important weeks.“

Back in 2022, Manoah went 16-7 with a 2.24 ERA and was a finalist for the AL Cy Young Award at 24 years old. 2023 was a disaster, 2024 was injury-riddled, and 2025 has been spent entirely in the minor leagues. In seven starts with Triple-A Buffalo this season, Manoah had a 2.97 ERA. He was also solid (3.70 ERA) in his last big league stint.

If there was ever a pitcher to buy low on and develop, it's Alek Manoah this offseason. Just like Priester, Manoah is a former first-round pick who could benefit from joining an organization like Milwaukee's. No team develops starting pitching like the Milwaukee Brewers, and if they do it correctly with a pitcher of Manoah's ability, they could add another Cy Young contender to an already formidable rotation.