Their pitching staff decimated by a rash of injuries that left them with one healthy member of their intended Opening Day starting rotation, the Milwaukee Brewers made a move to bolster that group Monday, acquiring right-hander Quinn Priester from the Boston Red Sox.
Priester, 24, has 21 games of big-league experience – including 15 starts – with a 6.23 ERA for the Pirates and Red Sox but is 26-17 with a 3.61 ERA in 87 minor-league outings (84 starts) and began the season as Boston’s No. 7 minor-league prospect according to MLBPipeline.com.
Milwaukee sent 19-year-old outfielder Yophery Rodriguez, a draft pick in Competitive Balance Round A (No. 33 overall) as well as a player to be named later to the Red Sox to acquire Priester then designated right-hander Grant Wolfram for assignment to clear a spot on the 40-man roster.
The deal comes a day after the Brewers placed left-hander Nestor Cortes on the 15-day injured list with a left flexor strain — the seventh Milwaukee starter to land on the IL this season.
Bruised and Battered
Milwaukee went into Spring Training knowing it would be without left-hander Robert Gasser until at least late September after he underwent Tommy John surgery last summer and that Brandon Woodruff, who hadn’t pitched since undergoing shoulder surgery in Sept. 2023, wouldn’t be ready until some time in May.
Still, the Brewers were confident with their starting depth.
That changed, though, when left-hander DL Hall stufferd a lat injury during a throwing session just before camp officially opened. Then, Aaron Ashby and right-hander Tobias Myers went down with oblique strains.
Milwaukee addressed those losses by signing veteran left-hander Jose Quintana in early March but his late arrival required additional build-up time so he remained in Arizona to stretch out while the team headed north to open the season.
But the injuries kept coming as Aaron Civale strained his hamstring during his season-opening start and finally Cortes, who’s elbow hadn’t recovered well after a stellar six-inning shutout effort his last time out.
Help is on the way
The Brewers have made the best of a bad situation with Peralta leading the way. Rookie Chad Patrick has pitched his way into the rotation, allowing just one run over 10 innings in the first two starts of his major-league career, but beyond those two, the Brewers’ options have been limited.
While Tyler Alexander stepped up in a big way in his spot start last week, rookie Elvin Rodriguez was knocked around in each of his two spot starts and will likely be replaced by Quintana when his spot comes up again Friday in Arizona.
Along with Quintana, Myers is expected to start a minor-league rehab assignment this week and could be back with the Brewers soon and Civale’s recovery is progressing to the point where he, too, could be back near the end of the month.
Woodruff will also begin a rehab assignment this week and if all goes well could join the staff in about a month.
The Brewers, though, have immediate needs and they’re hoping the Priester can help stop the bleeding until the cavalry arrives.
High Cost
Milwaukee paid a hefty price for Priester.
Rodrieguez was the Brewers’ top international free agent signing two years ago and while he wasn’t one of Milwaukee’s top-30 prospects, he was still a regarded one nonetheless. After slashing .250/.343/.383 with seven homers and a .726 for Single-A Carolina in his first full professional season Rodriguez opened 2025 at High-A Wisconsin where he was 5-for-12 (.417) with a 1.129 OPS through his first three games.
The Brewers’ willingness to give up a high draft choice – and the pool money allotment that comes with it – reflects how dire the pitching situation had become. The pick, No. 33 overall, is the first choice of Competitive Balance Round A, but was also one of six Milwaukee held in the first 100 selections.
In return, the Brewers get a pitcher who still has six full seasons of team control remaining and one they think has the type of skillset and pitch mix that has thrived under the team’s pitching development umbrella even if his previous surface statistics seem underwhelming.
Long Way Home
Joining the Brewers will be a homecoming of sorts for Priester, who grew up in the northwest suburbs of Chicago and attended Cary-Grove High School, located just a short drive from the Illinois-Wisconsin border.
After earning Illinois Gatorade Baseball Player of the Year honors as a senior, Priester was taken by the Pirates in the first round of the 2019 MLB Draft (No. 18) overall.
He made his big-league debut with the Pirates in 2023, posting a 7.74 ERA in 10 appearances (eight starts). He made 10 more appearances for Pittsburgh last season, going 2-6 with a 5.04 ERA, before being traded to the Red Sox at the deadline.
Priester started the season finale for Boston, allowing just a run over five innings and started 2025 at Triple-A Worcester where he allowed two runs over four innings in his lone appearance before the trade.
Wolfram Dealt To O’s
Hours after announcing the Priester trade, the Brewers made another deal, this time sending Wolfram to the Baltimore Orioles for minor-league outfielder Daz Cameron.
Wolfram posted a 6.00 ERA in four games for Nashville before getting his first big-league promotion Sunday morning when Cortes was placed on the injured list. A day later, his stay in the majors – and the Brewers’ organization – came to an end when the team needed to clear room for Priester on the roster and Milwaukee found a willing taker in the Orioles.
Cameron, 28, has appeared in 139 MLB games for the Tigers (2020-22) and Athletics (2023), slashing .201/.263/.330 with 10 home runs and a .593 OPS.
Baltimore brought him to spring training as a non-roster invitee and he perfomed well, slashing .355/.400/.453 with a .852 OPS in 35 Grapefruit League plate appearances. He opened the season at Triple-A Norfolk, where he was 1-for-18 with a double in five games.
Camreon is the son of former major-leaguer Mike Cameron who spent two of his 17 MLB seasons in Milwaukee and was part of the 2008 team that snapped the franchise’s 26-year postseason drought by clinching the National League Wild Card berth.
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