Prospect Brewers traded for Quinn Priester now making some noise in Red Sox’ system

Quinn Priester established himself as a rotation staple with the Milwaukee Brewers last year, far surpassing even the most optimistic expectations after arriving in an April trade with the Boston Red Sox.

Of course, that deal was panned at the time it was made. Most considered the Brewers, then desperate for starting pitching, too aggressive in their pursuit of innings, giving up an extremely valuable draft pick and a legitimate prospect in Yophery Rodriguez for Priester.

With the benefit of hindsight, it's clear those initial fears were unfounded. Priester is currently tending to a nerve issue in his right arm, but he's already on a rehab assignment and sounds close to making his 2026 season debut. If he pitches anything like how he did in 2025, there will be no doubts that the Brewers were right to target him.

That being said, the Red Sox are starting to see the fruits of their labor as well. They drafted top pitching prospect Marcus Phillips with that Competitive Balance Round selection, while John Holobetz (the player to be named later) has already climbed to Double-A. But the real win of the trade appears to be Rodriguez, who is annihilating his way through the South Atlantic League this year.

Brewers-Red Sox Quinn Priester trade may prove to be rare win-win deal

Through his first 21 games this season for the Red Sox's High-A affiliate (the Greenville Drive), Rodriguez is hitting a robust .295.368/.615 (152 wRC+) with six home runs and 12 RBI. He hasn't stolen many bases yet, but at just 20 years old, he's displaying the kind of power-speed profile that made him so tantalizing as a low-level prospect in the Brewers' system.

Nevertheless, some of the flaws in his game that caused the Crew to sour on him persist. His strikeout rate has jumped to 25.3%, which is problematic on its own. The fact that he's whiffing more now, while repeating a level he played at for all of last year, isn't a trend you want to see. Likewise, he's benefitting from an unsustainable .340 batting average on balls in play.

That doesn't diminish his rising stock, but it might hold him down as he looks to stay ahead of the aging curve. The Red Sox have enough outfielders as it is, but Rodriguez is playing well enough to get a call up to Double-A in short order. If he keeps thriving there, the trade is going to start looking very beneficial for Boston.

It'll be up to Priester to ensure the Brewers don't start regretting their decision. His rehab assignment has given way to mixed results (his command is clearly wanting, likely due to the nerve issue), but he proved last year that, when healthy, he can hold his own in the middle of a contender's rotation. No matter how fast Rodriguez evolves, that kind of pitcher is worth his weight in gold.

Add us as a preferred source on Google

Follow