Red Sox Acquire Yophery Rodriguez, Comp Pick From Brewers For Quinn Priester

Image credit: Yophery Rodriguez (Photo by Bill Mitchell)

Facing a thinning rotation and lack of depth in the upper minors just a week into the season, the Brewers acquired RHP Quinn Priester from the Red Sox in exchange for their No. 14 prospect Yophery Rodriguez, as well as a competitive balance Round A pick and cash considerations. The deal was first reported by Hunter Noll of Beyond The Monster on Monday morning.

In acquiring Priester, the Brewers add a young pitcher with a first-round pedigree who has struggled to figure things out. Meanwhile, the Red Sox clear a 40-man roster spot while adding a talented prospect and the 33rd overall pick in the 2025 draft.

BREWERS RECEIVE

Quinn Priester, RHP
Age: 24

Priester was considered a high-upside, cold-weather prep arm when the Pirates drafted him 18th overall in 2019. His innate ability to spin the baseball and above-average velocity saw him rank as a top-10 prospect for the Pirates for five consecutive seasons between 2020 and 2024. He was a one-time Top 100 Prospect, ranking No. 58 in 2021 and No. 88 in 2022, but he struggled in his early major league experience. Over 99.2 MLB innings, Priester owns a 6.23 ERA with a 15.2% strikeout rate and 9% walk rate.

Despite missing bats in the upper minors, Priester’s stuff has not generated the same result in the major leagues. He mixes primarily sinkers and sliders, and his arsenal rates as average to slightly below-average per Stuff+. Priester throws five different pitches: a sinker and a four-seam at 93-95 mph, an upper-80s slider, a low-80s curveball and a firm high-80s changeup. His velocity jumped to 94.9 mph in his first Triple-A start this season. The Brewers’ pitching development has a track record of success and is taking a chance on unlocking Priester.

RED SOX RECEIVE

Yophery Rodriguez, OF
Age: 19

Signed by the Brewers for $1.5 million out of the Dominican Republic in 2023, Rodriguez enjoyed an outstanding professional debut a few months later by hitting .253/.393/.449 with six home runs over 52 games in the Dominican Summer League. The Brewers aggressively skipped the Arizona Complex League for him in 2024, instead assigning Rodriguez to Low-A. With Carolina, Rodriguez hit .259/.356/.428 through the end of July before he seemed to wear down over the final month-plus of the season. He was assigned to High-A Wisconsin to begin the 2025 campaign and went 5-for-12 over the first three games of the season. Rodriguez displays strong plate discipline and bat-to-ball skills across multiple pitch types, as well as above-average power for his age. The Red Sox likely believe they can coax more bat speed and impact out from him at the plate, and he looks like an average everyday corner outfielder with a balanced blend of skills in the long run. He’ll likely join Greenville in the coming days, where he’ll be one of the more exciting players on the Drive’s roster.

In addition to Rodriguez, the Red Sox received the 33rd overall pick in the draft. Due to the construction of the MLB draft and its bonus pool system, this pick will likely have upward of $2.75 million in slot value. In 2024, the No. 33 pick came with a slot value of $2,766,100 and should climb from that number his season. The Red Sox now have picks No. 15 and No. 33 in the top round and have increased their bonus pool significantly in this trade.

Here are the five most recent picks at No. 33 overall: