Perrotto: He’s Not Vladdy Jr., But Nick Yorke is Intriguing

I’m not big on taking the temperature of situations on social media.

X can be a technological echo chamber with people hiding behind fake names and posting outrageous things to stir other users. Using Facebook makes it easier to keep up with my cousins but many opinions on the platform are expressed more with emotion than logic.

The Pittsburgh Pirates did not acquire a much-needed hitter for their less-than-fearsome batting order with the MLB trade deadline looming. Not surprisingly there was plenty of social media hate directed at general manager Ben Cherington.

The Pirates are just two games out of the second National League wild card but are approaching the pennant race with seemingly the urgency of a weeknight game in mid-April.

Part of that falls on Cherington. More of it falls on Bob Nutting as the owner told the front office long ago that they would have limited resources to improve the team before Tuesday’s 6 p.m. deadline.

Vladimir Guerrero Jr. won’t be walking through the Pirates’ clubhouse door on Friday night at PNC Park before they open a three-game series with the Arizona Diamondbacks. Neither will Luis Robert Jr., or any other high-priced player.

So, Cherington can only do what he can and fill in the roster around the margins. He made two small trades Tuesday, dealing Quinn Priester to the Boston Red Sox for infield prospect Nick Yorke then shipping a minor-league pitcher to the Colorado Rockies for left-handed reliever Jalen Beeks.

While neither deal is exciting, the acquisition of Yorke is intriguing. It is an old-fashioned challenge trade in which two first-round draft picks will try to reboot their careers in new organizations.

Priester was the Pirates’ top pick in 2019 in Neal Huntington’s last draft as general manager. Priester made it to the big leagues last year but was 5-9 with a 6.46 ERA in 20 games (14 starts) over two seasons with the Pirates.

The zip on Priester’s fastball was lost somewhere along the way. Add in the fact that he wasn’t one of Cherington’s draft picks and it was easy to understand why the Pirates were willing to trade him.

Yorke was also a first-round selection, chosen 17^th overall by the Boston Red Sox in 2020 from Archbishop Mitty High School in San Jose, Calif. Like Priester, Yorke seemed stuck in neutral in the Red Sox’s farm system and was brought into the organization by a previous front office regime.

Yorke was ranked as the 31st-best prospect in the game by Baseball America before the 2022 season. However, he had slipped to No. 14 on BA’s list of top Red Sox prospects this year.

Yorke is a .277/.359/.437 hitter with 48 home runs and 53 stolen bases in 370 games over four minor-league seasons. However, he is enjoying a rebound season in 2024, posting a .278/.363/.422 slash line while hitting 10 homers and stealing 14 bases in 83 games combined with Triple-A Worcester and Double-A Portland.

Furthermore, Yorke is still just 22 and a year removed from playing in the All-Star Futures Game. The guy has some pedigree.

Yorke is also a baseball rat. His mother was a standout softball player at Fresno State and his younger brother plays collegiately at Grand Canyon and will likely be drafted next year.

When Yorke made a recruiting visit to the University of Arizona while in high school, one of the Wildcats coaches asked Yorke what he would do if he had two free hours on a Friday night. Yorke said he would spend that time in the school’s indoor batting cages.

You’ve got to love a kid like that even if he isn’t Vladdy Jr.