White Sox officially signal Padres won Blake Snell trade with Rays after roster move

When the San Diego Padres acquired Blake Snell through a trade with the Rays in the last days of 2020, it shocked the league. San Diego sent four players to the Rays in exchange for Snell: Luis Patiño, Francisco Mejía, and prospects Blake Hunt and Cole Wilcox. It clearly paid off for the Padres; Snell pitched to a 3.15 ERA over his three years in San Diego — including, of course, his 2.25 ERA, 234 strikeout, .180 batting average against, second Cy Young-winning season this year.

On Dec. 20, the White Sox announced that they were DFA'ing Patiño, officially solidifying the Padres' win in their original deal for Snell. The other three parts of the deal, Mejía, Hunt, and Wilcox, have also all but faded from view, while Snell is set to be one of this offseason's top earners in free agency, despite being 31 years old.

White Sox officially signal Padres won Blake Snell trade with Rays after roster move

Patiño peaked at No. 3 in the Padres' top prospects ranking in 2020 before being traded to the Rays, where his performance took a steep drop. Over three seasons and 101 1/3 innings in Tampa Bay, he pitched to a 5.24 ERA between minor league stints. He struggled at the Triple-A level as well, with a 4.99 ERA over 123 innings. At the major league level in Chicago, he pitched 17 2/3 innings for a more promising 3.57 ERA, but the White Sox seem to have lost patience; they designated him for assignment in favor of bringing up prospect Josimar Cousin.

Mejía is a free agent this year after playing in 50 games for the Rays. A knee sprain kept him on the IL for a short stint, he was DFA'ed, cleared waivers, and went down to Triple-A before electing free agency this offseason. Hunt and Wilcox have yet to break into the major leagues, with Wilcox yet to reach Triple-A. Hunt finished the season in Triple-A with the Rays organization, but he was traded to the Mariners in early November for another prospect. Both are still young, but their chances of reaching the major leagues aren't looking great.

As it stands, Snell is the lone survivor of his trade to the Padres, the only player who is guaranteed a future in the major leagues. While he was always going to pitch well for San Diego, this kind of definitive win is a credit to Snell and the Padres.

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