Ex-Red Sox Prospect Moving Past Boston Trade With Major Goal

Infielder Nick Yorke no longer thinks about last season’s trade from the Boston Red Sox to the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Yorke, a former prospect in Boston’s farm system and the team’s 17th overall pick in the 2020 MLB Draft, has moved on. The 22-year-old was dealt ahead of last season’s trade deadline in exchange for right-handed pitcher Quinn Priester, which triggered an abrupt change of scenery, all while Yorke was on a tear in the batter’s box upon being promoted to Boston Triple-A affiliate Worcester Red Sox.

There are no hard feelings, as Yorke isn’t focused at all on the past.

“They didn’t want me, and they wanted me over here, so I’m going to make the best of the opportunity over here,” Yorke said Tuesday, per The Boston Globe’s Alex Speier. “I could honestly care less what’s going on over there.”

Yorke, before getting traded from the Red Sox, slashed .310/.408/.490 with six home runs and 19 RBIs across 38 games in Triple-A. That was a major boost from Yorke’s .251 batting average to begin the season with the Double-A Portland Sea Dogs, and it even sparked a sense of confusion in the rising prospect’s mind. Yorke felt he’d been doing everything right and wasn’t expecting a trade, even amid the most uncertain period of the season of nearly every player — big leaguer and prospect — across the league.

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“I felt like I was playing my best baseball and then to make it to the last level with an org and then get traded, it doesn’t feel great,” Yorke said. “But at the same time, the guys over here wanted me, and my goal was just to make (Pirates general manager Ben Cherington) make that the best trade he’s ever done in his life.”

The trade might’ve bothered Yorke at the time, but it had zero impact on his production.

Yorke continued to terrorize pitchers in the batter’s box, slashing .355/.431/.507 with the Indianapolis Indians, Pittsburgh’s Triple-A affiliate. While not missing a beat, Yorke also crushed two home runs, 17 doubles, stole seven bases and recorded 18 RBIs over 40 games, and even got a few glimpses of the big leagues.

“He played great at second base,” Red Sox manager Alex Cora said of Yorke last spring, per MassLive’s Christopher Smith. “The times he was on the bases, good instincts. But the offensive side of it, that was his ticket when he got drafted — he’s going to be an offensive middle infielder.”

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Pittsburgh promoted Yorke on September 16, allowing him to get 15 at-bats with the club through six games. Yorke managed to record his first major league base hit — a day after being called up — and followed it up with two more, including a double, before putting the campaign to a close.

Now, back at spring training with the Pirates, Yorke will battle to carve out a role in the team’s Opening Day roster.

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