In the latter days of 2020, the league was taken aback when Blake Snell was acquired by the San Diego Padres via a deal with the Rays. In return for Snell, San Diego sent four players to the Rays: prospects Blake Hunt and Cole Wilcox, Luis Patiño, and Francisco Mejía. The Padres saw good results from it, as Snell pitched to a 3.15 ERA in his three years in San Diego. This included, of course, his second Cy Young-winning season this year, a 2.25 ERA, 234 strikeouts, and.180 batting average against.
The White Sox’s announcement on December 20th, announcing Patiño’s DFA, cemented the Padres’ first Snell trade victory. Mejía, Hunt, and Wilcox, the other three components of the trade, have also mostly disappeared from view, while Snell, who is 31 years old, is expected to be among the highest paid free agents this offseason.
White Sox formally announce the Padres’ victory Rays acquire Blake Snell following a roster change
Prior to being dealt to the Rays, where his performance drastically declined, Patiño reached his highest position of No. 3 in the Padres’ 2020 top prospects list. Pitching to a 5.24 ERA in between stints in the lower leagues, he spent three seasons and 101 1/3 innings in Tampa Bay. He pitched poorly at Triple-A as well, compiling a 4.99 ERA in 123 innings. He pitched 17 2/3 innings for a more encouraging 3.57 ERA in his major league debut with the Chicago White Sox, but they don’t seem to be patient anymore as they designated him for assignment rather than bringing up youngster Josimar Cousin.
Mejía played in 50 games for the Rays before becoming a free agent this season. After a brief stay on the injured list due to a knee sprain, he was designated for release, passed through waivers, and was sent to Triple-A before choosing to enter free agency this offseason. Both Hunt and Wilcox have failed to make it to the major leagues; Wilcox has not even made it to Triple-A. Hunt was transferred to the Mariners in early November in exchange for another talent, but he spent the season at Triple-A with the Rays organization. Though they are still young, it doesn’t appear like they will have much chance of making it to the top leagues.
As things stand, Snell is the only player who survived his trade to the Padres and is assured of playing in the major leagues going forward. Although Snell and the Padres deserve credit for this kind of decisive victory, he was always going to throw effectively for San Diego.