White Sox To Acquire Luis Patiño From Rays

The White Sox are acquiring right-hander Luis Patiño from the Rays for cash, reports James Fegan.

Patiño, now 23, came over to the Rays as part of the 2020 trade that sent Blake Snell to the Padres. At the time, he was considered one of the top 100 prospects in the sport. In 2021, he seemed like he was cementing himself as a part of Tampa’s future rotation. He made 19 appearances that year, 15 starts, throwing 77 1/3 innings with a 4.31 earned runs allowed per nine innings. That wasn’t a dominant number, but he was just 21 years old that year and so it seemed like there was plenty of room for him to grow.

Unfortunately, things haven’t gone according to plan since then. He missed most of the first half of 2022 due to an oblique strain and then spent the second half as a frequently-optioned depth piece for Tampa. He posted an 8.10 ERA over six big league starts and a 4.38 ERA in 11 minor league starts.

He’s been healthy here in 2023 but hasn’t been able to get back on track. He’s only tossed four innings in the big leagues, spending most of the year in Triple-A. He made six starts at that level earlier in the year but had a 6.66 ERA before being moved into a relief role. He has a 6.86 ERA since that time, walking 13.8% of hitters while striking out just 10.6%. He is in his final option year and will  be out of options next year. For a competitive team like the Rays, it seems it was time to move on.

The White Sox are in a very different position, as they have struggled badly this year and are looking towards the future. They’ve already traded a few pitchers, including Lucas Giolito, Reynaldo López and Kendall Graveman, with perhaps a few more potentially moving before the day is done. They can keep Patiño in the minors for the next couple of months, either in a starting role or a relief role, and see if they can get him back on track. He’s still quite young and was a top prospect not too long ago. He has less than three years of major league service time, meaning they can control him for four more seasons beyond this one if he gets into good form.