Red Sox Might Regret Trading 24-Year-Old Rising Star To Brewers

The Boston Red Sox have made more than one trade in 2025 that might come back to haunt them.

Everyone’s been talking about the Rafael Devers deal as having regret potential (and for good reason), but the Red Sox also made a trade back on April 7 that might come back to bite.

Boston sent 24-year-old starting pitcher Quinn Priester to the Milwaukee Brewers for prospect Yophery Rodriguez, the No. 33 overall pick in this year’s Major League Baseball draft, and a player to be named later (which became minor-league right-hander John Holobetz).

Before jumping to conclusions that the trade was a bad one for the Red Sox, it’s important to acknowledge that, ultimately, it’s still too early to draw such conclusions, at least definitively. That’s because we don’t know how Rodriguez — a borderline top-100 prospect in baseball — and whomever the Red Sox select at No. 33 will turn out.

Who knows, one or both of these players might become stars down the line.

But it’s starting to look like that would have to happen for the deal to look favorable for Boston ... because Priester is looking like an emerging ace lately for the Brewers.

Entering Saturday, Priester had the following numbers in Milwaukee since leaving Boston (per Beyond the Monster’s Andrew Parker):

“71 IP, 3.68 ERA, 50 K’s, 1.310 WHIP.” 

“While the starting depth isn’t great for Boston at the moment due to injuries, I still believe this was a great haul to get for Priester and don’t fault them for doing it,” Parker added.

But Parker made those comments before Priester delivered an iconic performance on Saturday at American Family Field, putting MLB on notice, and likely making Boston’s front office grimace, if only for a moment.

Priester delivered an 11-strikeout, 1-hit masterclass over seven innings of shutout work for the Brewers.

Priester is now 6-2 on the season. After a difficult start to his Brewers career (including a real struggle start versus the Chicago Cubs), Priester has been almost spotless lately. Just Baseball’s Joey Peterson had this to say on Friday about Priester:

“He’s not only been one of the most effective arms in Milwaukee’s rotation, but he’s been one of the most efficient pitchers in the National League.”

Peterson’s Priester comments, like Parker’s, were made before Saturday’s ace-like showing from Priester.

Nothing is certain in MLB, especially with starting pitchers and the risk of injury. A stellar month or two from Priester doesn’t guarantee him a successful career, nor does it by any means hammer the nail into the coffin of the trade for Boston.

Still, Priester’s surge can’t make Boston feel good about giving him away during a year where its own pitching staff has struggled mightily outside of one or two arms.

Priester's beginning to tap into potential that suggests he might even turn out better than scouts expected, another frightening thought for the Red Sox.