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This Date In Transaction History: Blake Snell Trade

By Anthony Franco | December 27, 2023 at 7:34pm CDT

Today marks three years since the blockbuster that sent a former (and future) Cy Young winner across leagues. The Rays dealt Blake Snell to the Padres in the late evening of December 27, 2020, bringing back a four-player prospect package. Luis Patiño headlined the return, which also included Blake Hunt, former top prospect Francisco Mejía and 2020 third-round draftee Cole Wilcox.

The deal came as something of a surprise, as the Rays weren’t under huge financial pressure to move Snell. Despite the controversy surrounding Kevin Cash’s decision to lift Snell in Game 6 of that year’s Fall Classic, Tampa Bay could’ve held the southpaw into the following season. Snell was under contract for respective salaries of $10.5MM, $12.5MM and $16MM covering the 2021-23 campaigns.

Nevertheless, the Tampa Bay front office felt the prospect return was too strong to pass up. Patiño was viewed as one of the sport’s most talented pitching prospects despite struggling in a brief MLB debut that season. Hunt was a borderline Top 100 minor leaguer at the time. Mejía’s stock had fallen from its peak as he struggled against big league pitching, but he was only entering his age-25 season and had less than three years of MLB service. Wilcox was viewed by many evaluators as a first-round talent that year, only dropping to the third because of a lofty bonus demand.

The deal didn’t pan out at all as the Rays had envisioned. While Snell has had a volatile career, he recaptured the ace-caliber upside he’d shown in Tampa Bay. After turning in a 4.20 ERA over 27 starts during his first year with the Friars, he rebounded to post a 3.38 mark in 2022. The cumulative 3.79 ERA he managed across 256 2/3 innings was solid, although it didn’t hint at the Cy Young level he’d reach in 2023.

Snell didn’t start the ’23 campaign well. He owned a 5.48 ERA with a strikeout rate just under 24% through the first month. After a slight uptick in strikeouts and a 3.82 mark in May, Snell kicked off a four-month stretch as the most dominant pitcher on the planet. From June 1 on, he struck out 35% of batters faced and allowed 1.23 earned runs per nine. His 1.54 ERA after the All-Star Break is the 12th-lowest second half rate since 2000 (minimum 75 innings).

The dominating finish led Snell to cruise to a second career Cy Young. He was a near-unanimous choice as the NL’s top pitcher after posting an MLB-best 2.25 ERA through 180 innings. Snell hit free agency and seems unlikely to return to a San Diego organization that has cut spending. Assuming he signs elsewhere in the coming weeks, he concludes his time as a Padre with a 3.15 ERA while striking out 31.5% of opponents in 436 2/3 frames.

As a team, San Diego didn’t have the kind of success they envisioned. They reached the postseason just once in the last three years. A second-half collapse cost them a playoff berth in 2021. They rebounded with a trip to the NLCS in ’22 but finished 82-80 last season. A strong final couple weeks ostensibly brought them within a couple games of a playoff spot, but the 2023 club was more or less finished by the end of August.

One can debate whether the Friars should’ve more aggressively marketed Snell, Juan Soto and Josh Hader at the deadline. A fringe contender at the time, they elected to add around the margins rather than move their top impending free agents or Soto (whose arbitration price tag they knew was rising). As a team that exceeded the luxury tax threshold, they’ll only receive picks after the fourth round as compensation for losing Snell and Hader, each of whom rejected a qualifying offer.

San Diego’s subsequent decisions don’t negate how well they fared in the Snell trade, however. That turned out to be one of the more lopsided deals of the past few seasons. No one in the return found much success in Tampa Bay. Three of the four are out of the organization entirely.

Patiño saw MLB action in each season from 2021-23. He logged 101 1/3 innings as a Ray, turning in a 5.24 ERA. Patiño’s control hasn’t developed as expected and he has struggled with home runs throughout his MLB tenure. The Rays moved on at the deadline, sending him to the White Sox for cash. He ended up back in San Diego last week; the Friars claimed him when Chicago put him on waivers. He’s out of options, so he’ll either need to open the season on the MLB roster or be made available to other teams yet again.

Neither of the other prospects involved have reached the majors. Hunt has slowly climbed the minor league ladder, hitting at a roughly league average level at each stop. The Rays didn’t want to carry him on the 40-man roster, yet Hunt was eligible for minor league free agency after this season. Tampa Bay dealt him to the Mariners (who did add him to the 40-man) for 2022 eighth-round pick Tatem Levins last month. Wilcox remains in the organization but underwent Tommy John surgery late in the ’21 season. He returned to post a 5.23 ERA in 25 starts at Double-A this year. He went unselected in the Rule 5 draft a few weeks ago.

Mejía, arguably the fourth piece of the return at the time, had the most success for Tampa Bay. The switch-hitting catcher had a .260/.322/.414 batting line in 84 games in 2021. His offense cratered over the last two years, though, as he hit .237/.262/.387 in 459 plate appearances over that stretch. The Rays designated him for assignment in August. He reached free agency at year’s end and signed a minor league deal with the Angels last week.

Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.

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MLBTR Originals San Diego Padres Tampa Bay Rays This Date In Transactions History Blake Hunt Blake Snell Cole Wilcox Francisco Mejia Luis Patino

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View Comments (70)
Post a Comment

70 Comments

  1. deGrom/Langford Texas Ranger

    2 years ago

    Tampa Bay actually got fleeced for a change!

    17
    Reply
  2. Juggy

    2 years ago

    Boooooooo

    Reply
  3. Tom the ray fan

    2 years ago

    …and we got absolutely nothing in return. Happy for Blake tho once a Ray always a Ray!!!

    4
    Reply
    • Braves Butt-Head

      2 years ago

      Aka means once a Ray and play well get traded with 3 arbitration years left.

      5
      Reply
      • 14thor

        2 years ago

        Rather be a Ray than an A.

        1
        Reply
  4. Javia135

    2 years ago

    Yay!

    Reply
  5. amk1920

    2 years ago

    AJ Preller is a bad matchup for the Rays front office.

    11
    Reply
  6. martras

    2 years ago

    Definite win for the Padres in the exchange.

    The Rays seem to usually win their trades, but considering they’re dealing young pitchers for prospects, they usually get overpays. It’s the biggest way Tampa stays competitive in the AL East despite embarrassingly low payrolls.

    Draft pitching, pitching and more pitching. When a pitcher works out, trade them for a pitching prospect and a bunch of young position players because young, talented, cost controlled pitching is always at a premium.

    5
    Reply
    • DonOsbourne

      2 years ago

      Development matters too. Otherwise everyone would be doing it.

      That list of second halves is littered with what could have beens.

      3
      Reply
    • Candlestoked

      2 years ago

      Who’s embarrassed about a low payroll when the players achieve?

      2
      Reply
      • martras

        2 years ago

        Some people (and maybe even organizations) like earning their way.

        Reply
  7. Cincyfan85

    2 years ago

    No compare what Tampa Bay got for 3 years of Snell to the craziness that the White Sox want for 2 years of Dylan Cease. Insane.

    4
    Reply
  8. DMacNCheez

    2 years ago

    Link is going to the wrong Cole Wilcox, should be this guy: baseball-reference.com/register/player.fcgi?id=wil…

    4
    Reply
  9. ClevelandSteelEngines

    2 years ago

    Padres’ prospects are always overrated. The last decent guy was Tatis and he was originally from another team.

    Reply
    • D68Soldier

      2 years ago

      So Trea Turner, Max Fried, and Cory Kluber were overrated?

      8
      Reply
      • its_happening

        2 years ago

        Since Kluber was drafted 2007, one would expect an organization to have more than 3 prospects you mentioned over the course of 16 year. Especially given the fact that SD had lean years to draft fairly high up.

        Reply
        • Longtimecoming

          2 years ago

          It’s – what about my list. I only utilized the criteria of the original post for my timeline. There are many others we could name in between – or you could just look them up.

          Reply
        • its_happening

          2 years ago

          I saw your list. Some you can take off it.

          Reply
        • Longtimecoming

          2 years ago

          For the record, I’m not sure which ones you would take off my list right now anyway.

          S for the concept of prospects being over rated I’d say that applies to all teams as a general rule and just the Padres but when the haters want to attack they don’t seem to care that their post isn’t team specific.

          Reply
        • Habitual Truth Teller

          2 years ago

          Since 2007 huh
          Nick Vincent was a great reliever from 2008 class. Same with Brad Brach
          Jedd Gyorko had a decent career from 2010
          Quackenbush had a few good years as a reliever from 2011
          2012 Fried and Eflin were drafted
          2013 was Renfroe Gott Cimber each who’s been around a while
          2014 was turner
          2015 Maton has been a good reliever and France
          2016 suwinski bednar
          2017- gore campusano cosgrove
          2018 they found a good reliever in Wilson
          2019 Abrams brash

          1
          Reply
        • D68Soldier

          2 years ago

          I only named a few that have become All-Stars to make a point (Padres draft picks ALWAYS being overrated). I could have mentioned David Bednar, Ty France, etc. Also, I mentioned Cory Kluber because I was replying to someone with Cleveland in their username.

          Reply
    • Longtimecoming

      2 years ago

      CJ Abrams, Mackenzie Gore, Cal Quantrill, Ty France, andres Munoz, Bednar ….

      9
      Reply
    • TheIncident

      2 years ago

      He was traded at 17 years old and had never played a game in the US.

      1
      Reply
  10. astros_fan_84

    2 years ago

    Trading for prospects is a risky choice. Sometimes a prospect turns into a superstar. Other times, the return is nothing.

    1
    Reply
    • Longtimecoming

      2 years ago

      Most of the times the return is nothing or close to nothing. Like the Archer trade for example,it all depends on how well the other guy does.

      If Snell has suffered the Rays return wouldn’t appear as bad as it does.

      2
      Reply
  11. El Niño

    2 years ago

    I love these look backs to remind fans prospects are not guaranteed.

    12
    Reply
    • ilikebaseball 2

      2 years ago

      Mad Dog puts it best. Prospects are suspects til they perform in the majors.

      2
      Reply
      • CityofChampions

        2 years ago

        Then you put up

        Glasnow Baz Meadows for Archer & you’re reminded that prospects too are valuable pieces

        3
        Reply
        • ilikebaseball 2

          2 years ago

          Glasnow and Meadows weren’t prospects at the time of that trade. Both had exceeded rookie eligibility.

          1
          Reply
        • Ma4170

          2 years ago

          Even that trade isnt how it looked a couple years ago. Meadows basically 1.5 good years… glasnow has never pitched a full year… and Baz TJS. Of course archer was awful so TB still did well but not how it looked after 2019.

          2
          Reply
        • Longtimecoming

          2 years ago

          That trade is viewed in the eyes of how bad Archer performed.

          1
          Reply
        • astros_fan_84

          2 years ago

          The Texiera to Atlanta trade fueled two pennants. There are many examples of trades working either way with one team a clear winner.

          2
          Reply
        • Tigers3232

          2 years ago

          You should add on Paredes production as well. Meadows was flipped straight up for him. So whatever Meadows is not doing lately is irrelevant to the Rays as Parededs production is what they are currently benefiting from.

          Reply
      • raisinsss

        2 years ago

        Mad dog is a tool. He is a buffoon. Stop paying attention to him. He will yell louder, but that’s only the sound of death through obscurity.

        5
        Reply
        • ilikebaseball 2

          2 years ago

          Even a broken clock is right twice a day. And I’ll watch what I want to watch thanks, stranger.

          1
          Reply
        • Blue Baron

          2 years ago

          Although he is highly paid as host of a successful show on MLB Network.

          Where on TV do you appear?

          2
          Reply
        • raisinsss

          2 years ago

          You’ll have to explain how that is relevant.

          Thanks!

          Reply
        • MacGromit

          2 years ago

          @raisinsss

          Gotta give you props for the aggression. Way too much peace in this world. You fight the good fight.

          4
          Reply
        • Blue Baron

          2 years ago

          First, you need to explain why you’re so thick that you don’t get it.

          Reply
        • raisinsss

          2 years ago

          Ah yes, there it is.

          Nothing pretending to be something.

          1
          Reply
        • Blue Baron

          2 years ago

          Good on you for looking in the mirror and admitting that!

          1
          Reply
        • raisinsss

          2 years ago

          Classic 5th grade trash talk.

          “That thing you said to me? WELL YOU WERE ACTUALLY SAYING IT TO A MIRROR LOL”

          You do you, bud. Stay special.

          2
          Reply
        • Blue Baron

          2 years ago

          You brought it up. Keep on rationalizing your behavior, special one.

          Oh, and don’t lose your animosity for those who do and make good livings at doing what you can’t.

          Reply
  12. DarrenDreifortsContract

    2 years ago

    And it amounted to nothing for the Padres.

    1
    Reply
    • Deleted Userr

      2 years ago

      Like the Miggy trade for the Tigers or the Scherzer/Turner trade for the Dodgers or the Matt Holliday trade for the Cardinals or the Realmuto trade for the Phillies?

      5
      Reply
  13. wbz41

    2 years ago

    Welcome to Boston.

    Reply
    • Blue Baron

      2 years ago

      Who?

      Reply
      • HBan22

        2 years ago

        I’m assuming he means Snell, and I’m certain he’s wrong.

        1
        Reply
        • Blue Baron

          2 years ago

          Of course he does and is. That’s why I asked.

          1
          Reply
        • TrumboRedux

          2 years ago

          LOL

          1
          Reply
  14. Old York

    2 years ago

    I just found out he was traded.

    Reply
  15. Saint Nick

    2 years ago

    Rare Rays trade L

    Reply
  16. Diggydugler

    2 years ago

    Rare Rays L

    1
    Reply
    • HBan22

      2 years ago

      I never really liked the Nate Lowe trade for them either, but it depends mainly on how Basabe pans out.

      1
      Reply
  17. ACK

    2 years ago

    It would be an interesting case study; but I would have to think that the team trading for 3 years of team control on a TOR SP under the age of 30 would win the vast majority of trades compared to the team that receives the 4 unproven prospects.

    1
    Reply
  18. mgomrjsurf

    2 years ago

    Padres did get to Trade Soto and Rays Glasnow.

    Reply
  19. Deleted Userr

    2 years ago

    Got fleeced in the Cronenworth trade too.

    2
    Reply
  20. Deleted Userrr

    2 years ago

    Question for Rays fans. If you got to undo the Snell trade but also had to undo the Chris Archer trade and weren’t allowed to just trade them for something else, would you do it?

    Reply
    • Paleobros

      2 years ago

      No.

      Reply
    • StPeteStingRays

      2 years ago

      I wouldn’t change a thing. Snell was super frustrating to watch, as he couldn’t get out of the 4th inning with less than 100 pitches. Glasnow was a star when he was on the bump. Meadows did good. And, Baz has his best days ahead of him. Hindsight is 20/20…
      Stay tuned for the haul of players we got for Glas

      Reply
  21. Deleted Userrrr

    2 years ago

    I love it when people use the refrain that prospects are just suspects until they prove otherwise to try and defend the first Soto trade and then in the same thread they also try and defend the second Soto trade as if the Padres didn’t just trade Soto for mostly prospects (or at least prospect adjacents) and as if the prospects they gave up aren’t objectively better than the ones they got back.

    Reply
    • Brew88

      2 years ago

      I’ve never heard anyone say the Pads didn’t give up much more for Soto than they received back from the recent trade with Yanks for Soto.

      Reply
      • Deleted Userrrr

        2 years ago

        Pads Fans or whatever he’s calling himself now did.

        Reply
  22. 178iq

    2 years ago

    So they traded an Ace CY winner for junk. Did they just not like him as a person? We’ll never know.

    Reply
  23. Scream_name

    2 years ago

    Good article. Enjoyed reading it.

    1
    Reply
  24. 30 Parks

    2 years ago

    Vive les Expos!

    Reply
  25. 619MetroFriars

    2 years ago

    My Friar Men will be just fine without Snell. We are still led by a trio of Stars in: Joey Musgrove/Yu Darvish/Mikey King…..with the best pitching prospect in baseball on the way in: Drew Thorpe.

    Reply
    • Brew88

      2 years ago

      I guess you think highly of Drew Thorpe. Snelling and Lesko rank higher as prospects though. And King isn’t a star yet, he’s only been a SP for 5 weeks

      Reply
      • 619MetroFriars

        2 years ago

        We shall see what happens this year, mate…

        Reply
  26. thefaithfulfriar

    2 years ago

    Let’s just bring the youth up here now. We have to move on from the big free agent signing ways and start developing within. AJ has shown his prowess in drafting and trading let’s concentrate on development. Padres future depends on it

    Reply

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