Brewers-Red Sox Trade Officially Finalized; Did Milwaukee Win Deal?

The Milwaukee Brewers and Boston Red Sox closed the chapter on a pivotal trade on Sunday night.

In the first round of the 2025 Major League Baseball draft, Boston selected a right-handed pitcher out of Tennessee, Marcus Phillips, with the No. 33 overall selection, a pick that belonged to the Brewers only a few months ago. But on April 7, Milwaukee traded the pick to the Red Sox — along with prospect Yophery Rodriguez and a Player to Be Named Later (John Holobetz) — for starting pitcher Quinn Priester.

How has the trade worked out for the Brew Crew? While Priester got off to a shaky start in Milwaukee, the right-hander has turned things around in a huge way since the middle of May, as discussed on Sunday by FanSided’s Owen Jonas, who noted that — with Boston’s first-round selection — the deal was now “officially finalized.”

“After Priester's first few starts … the 24-year-old right-hander was sporting an ERA of 5.79 and wasn't showing much of an ability to strike batters out, while also allowing a high number of walks,” Jonas wrote. “However, in mid-May, on a dime, Priester turned things around. In his last 12 starts, Priester hasn't lost a game, while posting a 2.76 ERA and a 1.07 WHIP. During that stretch, he's walking just 6% of the batters he faces while posting an eye-popping ground ball rate of nearly 60%. Priester looks like a viable middle-of-the-rotation starter who has finally tapped into the potential that made him an early round selection just six years ago.”

And how about Boston’s end of the deal? Rodriguez and Holobetz haven’t impressed since joining the Red Sox system, but it’s still way too early to judge the trade, especially with Boston’s selection on Sunday evening of Phillips, whose ultimate value won’t be known anytime soon.

You can argue that Milwaukee won the trade in the short term. Boston, despite being the hottest team in baseball heading into the All-Star break, could really use one more impact starting pitcher in its rotation. The Red Sox might be wondering if Priester could have been that guy had they held onto him. 

On the other hand, perhaps a change of scenery is exactly what was needed to unlock Priester’s potential.