Why the Quinn Priester-Nick Yorke trade is a win for Red Sox

Why the Quinn Priester-Nick Yorke trade is a win for Red Sox originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston

Rapid reaction to the news that the Red Sox have traded second baseman Nick Yorke to the Pirates for right-hander Quinn Priester…

This is exactly the kind of move Craig Breslow should be making. Yorke belonged to an area of surplus, and Priester represents the kind of high-upside arm the Red Sox should be prioritizing. We shouldn’t expect Priester to solve any immediate pitching needs, however, because this feels more like a later move than a now one.

Both players were first-round picks, with Priester going 18th in the 2019 draft and Yorke 17th a year later. Both have played in the Futures Game, and both were once considered top-50 overall prospects.

Priester reached the big leagues in 2023 and has struggled this year as a starter. He went 0-5 with a 4.83 ERA before spending a month on the injured list with a lat strain, and then returned as a long reliever with even worse results, posting a 5.54 ERA in four appearances.

Still, he’s only 23, and he owns a lifetime ERA of 3.41 in the minors. If the Red Sox are able to duplicate Breslow’s success with the Cubs developing young pitchers, Priester is a prime candidate eventually to break out, although that may be of little solace to the current staff.

Still, there’s plenty to work with, and a track record of success in the minors. Priester is primarily a sinker-slider pitcher who keeps the ball on the ground over half the time. Unfortunately, when it’s hit in the air, it tends to go far. He remains very much a work in progress.

The fact that Yorke was the one to go should be of little surprise. According to multiple rival executives, the Red Sox shopped him aggressively in an attempt to capitalize on his scorching performance at Triple-A Worcester, where he’s hitting .310 with six homers in 38 games. The 2020 first round pick had mostly fallen out of the team’s top 10 on various prospect lists, however, because of concerns over his defense and future position in the big leagues.

He opened the year as the organization’s No. 6 prospect according to MLB.com, but sat at No. 14 according to Baseball America, No. 13 per Fangraphs, and No. 12 per SoxProspects.com.

Yorke represents an intriguing prospect in that he’s 22 and basically big-league ready, with a pure hit tool that ranks slightly above average. He has experimented with his stance throughout the minor leagues, but hasn’t recaptured the excitement of his 2021 debut, when he hit .325 between two levels.

There are concerns over how well his glove will play at second in the big leagues, and whether he’ll hit for enough power to justify a spot in left field. He’s expendable because of the impressive depth the Red Sox have built in the middle infield, a group that includes not just the organization’s No. 1 overall prospect in shortstop Marcelo Mayer, but also slugging second baseman Kristian Campbell, international signees Franklin Arias and Yoellin Cespedes, athletic shortstop Nazzan Zanetello, and potential utilityman Chase Meidroth, who’s also hitting well in his Triple-A debut.

All told, six of the team’s top 12 prospects are middle infielders.

It makes sense, then, that the Red Sox would trade from within this group, and Yorke seemed like a strong candidate to be moved. The fact that the Red Sox were able to follow through on Breslow’s goal of upgrading their pitching depth via their middle infield depth represents a step in the right direction, even if it might not help a ton right away.