Red Sox trade one of their top-ranked prospects to acquire 23-year-old pitcher from Pirates

WORCESTER — After nearly two months of solid baseball with the WooSox, Nick Yorke is shipping up to ... Indianapolis.

The Boston Red Sox’ infield/outfield prospect was traded to the Pittsburgh Pirates on Monday in exchange for right-handed pitcher Quinn Priester.

Yorke played in 83 games this season for Double-A Portland (45 games) and Triple-A Worcester (38 games). The former first-round selection (No. 17 overall) of the 2020 First-Year Player Draft batted .278 with 16 doubles, 10 home runs and 46 RBI while making 54 starts at second base, 26 in left field and two as the designated hitter.

The 22-year-old and sixth-ranked prospect in the Sox system (according to MLB.com) caught fire since his promotion to Worcester on June 5, hitting .310 with six homers and 32 runs in 145 at-bats and 38 games.

“He has the ability to continue to get stronger and drive the baseball, and I think that’s something we want him to continue to do at the next level,” Red Sox director of player development Brian Abraham said earlier this year. “We've seen Nick grow and mature and continue to improve over the years. He wants to be an impactful big leaguer for years to come, and we feel the same.”

Now, the Red Sox parlayed Yorke’s strong season into bolstering their pitching staff since the organization has a bit of redundancy when it comes to infielders and outfielders in the farm system.

Yorke will report to the Triple-A Indianapolis Indians.

“Nick has been a strong offensive performer and versatile defender in the minor leagues,” said Pirates general manager Ben Cherington, who was the Red Sox’ executive vice president and general manager from 2011 to 2015, in a team-issued press release. “We are excited to add him to our upper level position player group.”

Priester, 23, has pitched in 20 games (14 starts) with the Pirates (2023-24), going 5-9 with a 6.46 ERA. Selected by Pittsburgh in the first round (No. 18 overall) of the 2019 First-Year Player Draft, the right-hander was ranked by Baseball America as a top-100 prospect in 2021 (No. 58) and 2022 (No. 88).

In addition to his 10 outings with Pittsburgh this season, Priester has made seven starts for Triple-A Indianapolis, going 3-1 with a 3.21 ERA, 36 strikeouts, seven walks and two home runs allowed in 33⅔ innings pitched.

The Red Sox have optioned Priester to Triple-A Worcester and Boston’s 40-man roster is now at full capacity.

—Contact Tommy Cassell at tcassell@telegram.com. Follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter, @tommycassell44.

This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette: Red Sox trade one of their top-ranked prospects to acquire 23-year-old pitcher from Pirates