Infielder Nick Yorke, who played parts of two seasons with the Portland Sea Dogs, was traded by the Red Sox to the Pirates for pitcher Quinn Priester on Monday. Ben McCanna/Staff Photographer

BOSTON — Since taking over last fall, Craig Breslow, the Red Sox chief baseball officer, has repeatedly talked about the importance of turning some of the club’s position player capital into upper-levels pitching depth.

On Monday, he made a trade with that goal in mind.

The Red Sox acquired right-hander Quinn Priester from Pittsburgh for prospect Nick Yorke in a swap of former first-round picks. Priester, 23, was the 18th overall pick in the 2019 draft. Yorke, 22, was taken a year later at No. 17 overall.

The deal is Breslow’s third in the last four days after acquiring starter James Paxton and catcher Danny Jansen.

Boston’s farm system is full of talented position players but lacks talented young arms. Priester, a former top-100 prospect who has struggled in the majors, gives the Red Sox a pitcher with upside while Yorke, who is primarily a second baseman and left fielder, appeared blocked by better prospects and major league contributors.

On the surface, it’s a change-of-scenery swap with potential long-term benefits for both clubs.

Priester made his major league debut last season and has struggled mightily at the major league level, posting a 6.46 ERA in 942/3 innings for the Pirates in 20 appearances (14 starts) over the last two years. He surrendered 110 hits and walked 40 batters in that span.

His performance in Triple-A has been much better over the last three seasons; he owns a 3.81 ERA and 9.7 K/9 rate in 151 innings at the minors’ highest level. As a player with options remaining, Priester could slot into the rotation at Triple-A Worcester, where he would join Richard Fitts as the prospect headliners of that group.

The Red Sox acquired Pirates pitcher Quinn Priester in a trade on Monday. Priester is 2-6 with a 5.04 ERA in 10 games for Pittsburgh this season. Gene J. Puskar/Associated Press

Baseball America considered Priester, who was drafted out of Cary-Grove High in Illinois five years ago (and signed a $3.4 million bonus), to be a top-100 prospect in both 2021 and 2022. He peaked on that site’s rankings in 2021 as the No. 58 prospect.

The Pirates have been using him out of the bullpen, largely as a multi-inning option, since he came off the injured list July 9 (he missed a month with a lat issue). The Red Sox could use him in relief but likely view him as a starter long-term.

Yorke reached Triple-A for the first time this season and has dominated that level, hitting .310 with six homers, 19 RBI and an .898 OPS in 38 games for Worcester.

He has had an up-and-down tenure in the Sox’s system since being a surprise first-round pick four years ago; he was a top-50 prospect in the game before injuries and bad performance in 2022 lowered his stock.

Last season saw him regain his health but post an uninspiring .785 OPS in a full season (110 games) with the Portland Sea Dogs; his rise this year put him in position to be ranked by Baseball America as the 14th-best prospect in Boston’s system and SoxProspects to put him 12th.

METS: In a surprising move, New York cut veteran reliever Jake Diekman and promoted fellow left-hander Matt Gage from Triple-A Syracuse.

Diekman was 2-3 with a 5.63 ERA and four saves in a team-high 43 appearances after signing a $4 million, one-year contract with the Mets in February. He earned a huge save at Yankee Stadium last Tuesday, striking out Aaron Judge with a runner aboard in the ninth inning of a 3-2 victory.

But Diekman, 37, allowed three runs and four hits over two innings in a pair of outings against Atlanta over the weekend, and was designated for assignment before Monday night’s series opener against the Minnesota Twins.

ROYALS-RANGERS TRADE: The playoff-contending Kansas City Royals acquired veteran right-hander Michael Lorenzen from the Texas Rangers for minor league left-hander Walter Pennington.

Lorenzen went 5-6 with a 3.81 ERA in 19 games (18 starts) for the Rangers after signing late in spring training and making his season debut April 15.

In his final start for Texas on Saturday, Lorenzen allowed four runs and five hits while recording only two outs at Toronto. He then pitched again Sunday, and gave up one run over four innings in relief.

THREE-TEAM TRADE: St. Louis acquired right-hander Erick Fedde and outfielder Tommy Pham as part of a three-team trade that also moved hard-throwing reliever Michael Kopech to the Los Angeles Dodgers.

St. Louis got Fedde and Pham from the Chicago White Sox, who also sent Kopech to the Dodgers. The Dodgers also acquired utilityman Tommy Edman from the Cardinals. The White Sox received infield prospects Miguel Vargas, Alexander Albertus and Jeral Perez from the Dodgers.

REYES MORONTO, a former major league pitcher, died in a motorcycle accident in the Dominican Republic.

Moronta, 31, played for San Francisco, the Los Angeles Dodgers, Arizona and the Los Angeles Angels over six seasons.

RANGERS: Texas Rangers activated third baseman Josh Jung and left-hander Cody Bradford from the 60-day injured list among moves involving 11 players that the team made after trading right-handed starter Michael Lorenzen.

Right-hander Jon Gray was placed on the 15-day injured list with a right groin strain. It came a day after he felt discomfort while warming up in the bottom of the first inning at Toronto and didn’t throw a pitch in the game.

MARINERS: Seattle made its third significant move ahead of the deadline, acquiring veteran Justin Turner from Toronto in exchange for minor league outfielder RJ Schreck.

Turner, 39, is expected to get the bulk of playing time at first base for Seattle, but can also play third base and was the designated hitter for 71 of the 89 games he appeared in for Toronto. He is hitting .254 with six homers and 31 RBI in 89 games this season for the Blue Jays, but since June 1 has batted .301 with an .800 OPS.

MONDAY’S GAMES

ORIOLES 11, BLUE JAYS 5: Zach Eflin turned in a gritty pitching performance in his Orioles debut, Anthony Santander hit his 30th home run and Baltimore cruised at home in the opener of a doubleheader.

Obtained Friday from Tampa Bay for three minor leaguers, Eflin (6-7) provided an immediate boost to Baltimore’s thin rotation. Despite giving up 10 hits in six innings, including a three-run homer, Eflin struck out seven and walked none for the AL East leaders.

GUARDIANS 8, TIGERS 4: José Ramírez homered twice to give him 26 this season and had an RBI double, providing plenty of offense for Tanner Bibee and Cleveland won in Detroit.

Ramirez’s second homer was No. 240 of his career, tying him with Albert Belle for second in Cleveland history behind Jim Thome’s 337. He has 25 multihomer games, one shy of the totals of Thome and Belle.