The Rays have agreed to trade starter Blake Snell to the Padres, according to a report from The Athletic. The deal, which is pending medical review, will send pitcher Luis Patiño, catcher Francisco Mejia and prospects Blake Hunt and Cole Wilcox to Tampa Bay.
Snell, who turned 28 earlier this month, is the latest star addition to a San Diego team that went 37-23 in 2020 and reached the postseason for the first time since 2006. He’ll join a rotation that already includes the likes of Dinelson Lamet, Zach Davies and Chris Paddack and will add Mike Clevinger in 2022, once he recovers from Tommy John surgery.
Snell is under club control for three more seasons and is not slated to hit free agency until after 2023. After another strong season for the Rays (3.24 ERA, 11.3 K/9 in 11 starts), the 2018 American League Cy Young winner was the top starting pitcher available on this winter’s trade market and was linked to a handful of teams before being dealt.
The Rays received quite the haul in return for Snell. Patino, a 21-year-old flamethrower, was ranked by MLB.com as the No. 23 overall prospect in baseball and Mejia, 25, is a former top prospect who has made 128 big-league appearances since 2017. Wilcox, 20, was San Diego’s third-round pick in 2020 and the seventh-ranked prospect in their system. Hunt, who was the 69th overall pick in the 2017 draft, was ranked as their No. 14 prospect.
Snell is the latest top Rays starter to be dealt years before he was set to free agency, following pitchers James Shields, Matt Garza and David Price. After five years with the organization, his last appearance came in Game 6 of the World Series when he was controversially removed from the game by manager Kevin Cash in an eventual loss to the Dodgers.
Snell signed a five-year, $50 million extension with the Rays in March 2019 and expected to be with the club through the end of that deal.
“I know we thought our time was going to be these next three years,” Snell told Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times earlier this month.. “But maybe they feel with what happened with COVID and how they have to spend money, they probably have to hold back a little bit for whatever reason.
“... With Chuck (Morton) leaving, that’s my big caution flag. We had a very good starting rotation with Chuck here, and with him not being here — and we’re on the search for starting pitching — it’s definitely a bigger question mark now for me more than ever.”
Related links:
Rays’ Blake Snell blasts MLB, threatens to sit out season on Twitch stream: ‘It’s just not worth it’
The Link LonkDecember 28, 2020 at 11:39AM
https://www.masslive.com/redsox/2020/12/blake-snell-trade-rays-send-ace-lefty-to-padres-for-four-players-including-luis-patino-and-francisco-mejia.html
Blake Snell trade: Rays send ace lefty to Padres for four players, including Luis Patiño and Francisco Mejia - MassLive.com
https://news.google.com/search?q=Send&hl=en-US&gl=US&ceid=US:en
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