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On April 7, the Red Sox made a trade that surprised some at the time, as they took advantage of their seeming surplus of starting pitching to acquire some interesting prospects. In exchange for Quinn Priester, the Red Sox received Yophery Rodriguez, a player to be named later, and the 33rd overall pick in the 2025 MLB draft from the Milwaukee Brewers.
It seemed like a haul for a pitcher who was in Triple-A and behind the likes of Richard Fitts and Hunter Dobbins on the depth chart. The Red Sox saw an opportunity to cash in big on a player they had acquired for very little, having shipped Nick Yorke to Pittsburgh the previous summer for Priester. In Worcester this season, he had only made one start, pitching just four innings where he allowed two runs on six hits, though he did manage to strike out six batters.
Unfortunately for the Red Sox, Priester has been rather dominant since joining the Brewers on April 7. Having pitched in 22 games, 17 of them starts, Priester has gone 11-2 with a 3.49 ERA across 118 2/3 innings and has been a major factor in the Brewers' stampede to the best record in baseball. The Red Sox, on the other hand, have dealt with season-ending injuries to three of their starters in Kutter Crawford, Tanner Houck and Hunter Dobbins, on top of serious struggles from Walker Buehler and Richard Fitts. To some, it may seem like the Red Sox should have held on to Priester due to their issues with the rotation following the trade. However, the Red Sox may yet come out on top.
When you take a closer look at Priester's performance, it's clear the rookie is over-performing for the Brewers currently. Despite his 3.49 ERA, Priester is rocking a 4.21 FIP while managing to strand 78.3% of runners. Add to it that he’s not striking out many batters—just 95 in 118 2/3 innings—and walking nearly three batters per nine innings, it might just be a matter of time until things begin to come undone for the right-hander. Hitters are making good contact against him, as shown by his hard-hit rate (42.1%) and the average exit velocity off of him sitting just under 90 mph (89.7 mph).
Priester doesn’t generate enough whiffs or gets batters to chase enough either to help offset his 7.9% walk rate. And while batters are currently hitting just .239 against him, the underlying stats show he’s getting lucky there too, as he's working with an expected batting average of .251 along with an expected slugging percentage of .392. Eventually, hits will begin to fall in for opposing batters, and perhaps in August, things are starting to catch up to him.
Through his first two starts in August, Priester has looked more pedestrian as he’s allowed seven earned runs off of 12 hits in 11 1/3 innings pitched, resulting in a 5.56 ERA. The worst part of it may be that in his latest start against the Mets, Priester only generated three whiffs on 33 swings, good for a rate of 9%.
On the other hand, the Red Sox's end of the trade is only looking more promising. On May 5, right-hander John Holobetz was sent to the Red Sox as the player to be named later. Holobetz, a fifth-round pick in the 2024 draft, has spent his time in the Red Sox organization split between Greenville and Portland. where he’s looked rather good. In 14 games between the two levels, he’s tossed 75 2/3 innings while allowing 30 earned runs and striking out 80 hitters. Backed by a fastball that tops out at 96 mph, Holobetz has been able to use the pitch well thanks to its bat-missing ability along with his solid command for the pitch. His other pitches—a slider, curveball and changeup—are all works in progress, but they do flash plus potential at times. Even if he ends up in the bullpen as currently projected, Holobetz is an interesting pitcher to watch develop in the Red Sox pitching lab.
Of course, the main piece from the deal is Rodriguez. Milwaukee’s seventh-ranked prospect at the time of the trade, Rodriguez was immediately sent to High-A Greenville where the 19-year-old broke out. In April, he would go on to hit .257/.409/.414 between his time with Milwaukee’s High-A organization and the Drive. Defensively, he only committed one error during that span as well, showcasing a profile that best fits in left field. While the young outfielder did struggle in both May and June—hitting .155/.276/.262 and .205/.295/.282, respectively—he did rebound in July. In 19 games that month, Rodriguez looked more like the hitter he was in April, having responded to the change in how opposing teams pitched to him. In that span, he would go on to hit .356/.390/.562 with seven doubles, a triple, two home runs and 15 RBIs. Rodriguez is still young, as he won’t turn 20 until early December and will have time to develop against High-A pitching (he’s roughly three years younger than the average player there). He was a highly-ranked prospect with Milwaukee and being ranked 21st with the Red Sox is less a slight towards his talent and more a sign of how deep the Red Sox's farm system is.
Beyond that, many will argue that the true winner of this trade will be determined by how Marcus Phillips turns out. Drafted with that 33rd overall pick, Phillips is an interesting young arm thanks in part to a fastball that touches 100 mph. Paired with a deceptive release point and a slider that can reach 90 mph, Phillips could turn into either a starter or reliever depending on how his command and control play out. Should Phillips pan out for the Red Sox, there is no debate that they won this trade, even if Holobetz and Rodriguez fail to reach their potential.
Regardless of how Priester has looked at times this season, the Red Sox were smart to trade a player who was near the bottom of their depth chart. It made sense from a roster management perspective, and the Red Sox would be wise to make that trade every time it was offered, especially considering that they acquired such a valuable draft pick. Smart teams keep their farm system stocked, and that's what the Red Sox did with this trade.
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