MLB trade grades: Red Sox deal a top prospect to Ben Cherington for promising pitcher

Ben Cherington and the Boston Red Sox go way back, as the current Pirates executive used to work at Fenway Park up until 2015. Cherington was hired by the Pirates in 2019 in hopes of rebuilding a once-proud franchise from the ground up, thus taking on challenging project which involved stocking the farm system with promising prospects.

One of those prospects was Quinn Priester, a first-round pick in 2019 for Pittsburgh. Priester is a former top-100 prospect who has failed to live up to the hype with the Pirates. However, he remains just 23 years old, and with the right development could live up to his billing. That is what the Red Sox are banking on.

Boston could use the rotation help, as Garrett Whitlock and Lucas Giolito are out long term. Priester will either slide into the bottom of the rotation or serve as long relief.

MLB trade grades: Red Sox get pitching help, but at what cost?

The Red Sox are sending a top-10 prospect to Pittsburgh in exchange for Priester, per ESPN's Jeff Passan.

Nick Yorke is the Red Sox sixth-ranked prospect, and a former first-round pick in the 2020 MLB Draft. This season, he is slashing .278/.363/.422 across Double-A and Triple-A. Considering Pittsburgh's need for infield depth, Yorke could receive a call shortly to replace Nick Gonzales, who is expected to be out at least a few weeks with a left groin strain.

Priester, meanwhile, has a 5.04 ERA on the season in 10 starts. While he's improved some year over year, he still has a lot of work to do to become a top-of-the-rotation starting pitcher. Pittsburgh, meanwhile, has plenty of that in Jared Jones, Mitch Keller and, of course, Paul Skenes. Trading Priester will not hurt them long-term, and they're able to acquire system depth at a position of need.

Assuming there are more moves coming -- which Pirates and Red Sox fans both hope -- these general managers can sleep at night.

Red Sox trade grade: C+

Pirates trade grade: B