MLB insider Bob Nightengale deemed a trade that occurred between the Boston Red Sox and Milwaukee Brewers to be the 2025 season's best. Unfortunately, the Red Sox were on the wrong side of the deal.
The Red Sox on April 7 traded pitcher and former first-round pick Quinn Priester to the Brewers for outfield prospect Yophery Rodriguez, a player to be named later and a 2025 MLB Draft pick. The player to be named later became pitching prospect John Holobetz, and the draft pick turned into No. 33 overall pick Marcus Phillips.
During spring training, Priester was among the options to join Boston's rotation as the potential fifth starter. He was not awarded the spot, however, and the Sox optioned him to Triple-A Worcester, where he began the season with a four-inning, two-run outing. The Red Sox preferred Richard Fitts and Hunter Dobbins as their rotation depth options.
But soon enough, Fitts was demoted back to the minor leagues, Dobbins underwent season-ending ACL surgery, and Priester dominated in Milwaukee. Priester has clocked a 3.44 ERA with 104 strikeouts and 45 walks in 128 1/3 innings. He has an 11-2 record, and the Brewers have won the last 15 games in which he's appeared.
MLB insider Bob Nightengale names Brewers trade with Red Sox to acquire Quinn Priester the 'bets trade of the year'
In the wake of Dobbins' knee injury and Walker Buehler's inconsistency, the Red Sox could've used Priester in their rotation. Buehler posted a 5.40 ERA in his 22 starts, and he was recently moved to the bullpen (with minimal success so far) to bolster the rotation for a playoff push.
It's too early to decide the true winner of the Priester trade because the Red Sox's returns are all still in the minors, but Boston has looked like the immediate loser due to its rotation struggles and the Brewers' recent success as the best team in the major leagues. On the bright side, the Sox's returns have looked great early in their tenures on their farm.
Rodriguez stalled at the plate for a while with High-A Greenville and he's slashing .217/.319/.342 on the season, but he batted .342/.375/.539 in July. Holobetz, a 23-year-old righty, has pitched to a 3.29 ERA with 105 strikeouts and just 17 walks in 106 2/3 innings across three levels of the minor leagues. Phillips won't debut in the Red Sox organization until at least 2026, but he logged a 3.90 ERA with 98 strikeouts and 34 walks in 83 innings at the University of Tennessee in 2025.
Regardless of the Sox's return, Nightengale specified that "The best trade of the year was the Brewers acquiring starter Quinn Priester" from the Red Sox, and he might be right. At first, it seemed Boston fleeced Milwaukee for Priester — a struggling former first-round pick for a top outfield prospect, a player to be named later and a high draft pick felt like a great deal (and it still has time to be). But right now, Priester has the Brewers dominating the discussion while the Red Sox are waiting for their assets to materialize.