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Luis Patino

Injury Notes: Anderson, Patiño, Brieske

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Tampa Bay Ray veteran reliever Nick Anderson’s 2022 season is officially over, as per Marc Topkin of Tampa Bay Times. One of the leaders of Tampa Bay’s famed relief corps will call 2022 a lost season, having dealt with a torn elbow ligament in March 2021 and, more recently, plantar fasciitis on his right foot. Anderson did make it back to Triple-A, but posted a 6.19 ERA in 16 innings and gave up 5 home runs in the small sample. This poor showing led the Rays to opt to keep him in Durham, despite their constant bullpen shuffling.

In the three prior seasons, including the 6 innings pitched in 2021, the righty has put up a dominant 2.89 ERA in 87 1/3 innings, with a high 39.6 K% and a low 6.7 BB%. The Rays still have control over Anderson for the next three years, but with his recent injury troubles, it will be interesting to see if they tender him a contract for the 2023 season.

Other injury updates from around the league…

  • Rays’ former top prospect Luis Patiño was scratched from his Triple-A start due to “right shoulder discomfort,” as reported by Topkin. Patiño has had a rough 2022 season, with the starter posting a 8.10 ERA in 20 innings, giving up 6 home runs and walking 13 batters. In Triple-A Patiño has fared better, pitching to a 4.38 ERA in 37 innings, which is more in line with the 4.31 ERA in 77 1/3 innings that he posted last season in the majors. Regardless, Patiño’s injury comes at a crucial time with the Rays looking to hold onto a wildcard spot, and any further impediments may bring his season to an early close.
  • Detroit Tigers’ rookie Beau Brieske, who has been on the injured list since August 10th with right forearm soreness, will look to the 2023 season. Tigers manager A.J. Hinch has announced that the starter will not pitch again this year, reported by Evan Woodbery of Michigan Live, with the club not wanting to “ramp him back up for just one start” after his first major league season. Brieske’s rookie season was largely productive, with the newcomer starting 15 games, tied for second-most among Tigers pitchers, and pitching to a 4.19 ERA in 81 2/3 innings.

Rays Select Kevin Herget

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The Rays have selected right-hander Kevin Herget from Triple-A Durham and optioned righty Luis Patino back to Durham in his place, per a team announcement. Tampa Bay had a vacancy on the 40-man roster, so Patino’s option is the only corresponding move necessary.

It’ll be the Major League debut for Herget, a 31-year-old former 39th-round pick who has spent nine years grinding through the minor leagues. He’s in his first season with the Rays organization after spending the vast majority of his career in the Cardinals’ farm system. While this is Herget’s fifth season with at least some time spent at the Triple-A level, he’s unquestionably had the finest results of his career in 2022, logging a 2.45 ERA with a 25.2% strikeout rate, a minuscule 3.4% walk rate and a 34.4% ground-ball rate.

The Rays don’t necessarily need a spot starter at the moment, as Shane McClanahan and Drew Rasmussen are lined up to start Friday and Saturday. They’re currently listing Sunday’s starter as TBD, although Corey Kluber would be on regular rest if he were to take the mound that day. Herget could potentially get the ball for that series finale against Kansas City, but if not, he’ll add some length to the bullpen for the time being.

It’s a quick trip back to Triple-A for Patino, who impressed yesterday with 5 2/3 innings of shutout baseball against the Royals. However, with McClanahan, Rasmussen, Kluber, Jeffrey Springs and Ryan Yarbrough all healthy and pitching well of late, he’ll apparently continue to get his innings in at the Triple-A level while awaiting a more permanent spot in the rotation. The 22-year-old ranked as one of the game’s best all-around prospect prior to his big league debut, and while he’s yet to solidify himself as a mainstay in the Tampa rotation, he’ll likely be afforded the opportunity to do so before too long.

Rays Designate Jimmy Yacabonis For Assignment

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The Rays have designated right-hander Jimmy Yacabonis for assignment in order to open a spot on the roster for righty Luis Patino, who’s being recalled from Triple-A Durham to start tonight’s game, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times tweets.

Yacabonis, 30, was claimed out of the Marlins organization earlier in the month but has struggled considerably in his short time with the Rays, yielding four earned runs on six hits and two walks with four strikeouts in 3 2/3 frames. That brings Yacabonis to 11 runs in 13 innings this season (7.62) and boosts his career ERA to a mark of 5.92 in 117 innings between the Orioles, Mariners, Marlins and Rays.

Unsightly as those numbers may be, Yacabonis has a strong track record in both Double-A and Triple-A, and his ability to spin his slider has long intrigued teams. Yacabonis has been designated for assignment several times in his career but has been both claimed off waivers and traded in the past (in addition to a pair of outrights). The 2022 season is now his fifth with some level of Major League activity, further underscoring that teams are intrigued by quite a bit in his profile even if the results haven’t yet aligned with the minor league track record and his slider spin. The Rays will place him on waivers within the next week.

Patino, meanwhile, will return to the big leagues after a roller-coaster run in Durham. He’s missed significant time this season due to a Grade 2 oblique strain, throwing a wrench into the former top prospect’s bid to secure a full-time rotation spot in Tampa Bay. His most recent Triple-A run lasted three appearances: a perfect four-inning outing with four strikeouts, a disastrous start in which he yielded four runs in two-thirds of an inning, and another scoreless five-inning outing (no runs, three hits, two walks, six punchouts).

Patino has yet to establish himself in parts of three Major League seasons, although that’s not exactly unexpected for a pitcher who bursts into the big leagues at age 20. There are still some recent draftees who are the same age as Patino, but the 6’1″ righty nevertheless already has 102 2/3 MLB frames under his belt. There’s ample time for him to solidify his place alongside Shane McClanahan, Drew Rasmussen and, health-permitting, Shane Baz as a vital long-term rotation piece for manager Kevin Cash.

Rays Reinstate Jeffrey Springs, Option Luis Patino

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The Rays have reinstated Jeffrey Springs from the 15-day injured list and optioned right-hander Luis Patino to Triple-A, per Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times (via Twitter).

Patino started yesterday’s ballgame for the Rays, giving up three earned runs in four innings of work. It was just Patino’s third start of the season, and just his second as a true starter. He was an opener for his first outing, going just 2/3 of an inning. In Triple-A, the 22-year-old has posted a 3.57 ERA across six starts totaling 17 2/3 innings.

Springs is having a mini breakout campaign at the age of 29. Across 11 starts and seven relief appearances, Springs has registered a 2.53 ERA/3.66 FIP in 64 innings, which is already a career-high. He’s been particularly sharp in terms of limiting free passes with a career-best 5.9 percent walk rate, well below the league average rate.

Rays Activate Luis Patino, Transfer Mike Zunino To 60-Day IL

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The Rays reinstated right-hander Luis Patiño from the 60-day injured list, optioning Tommy Romero to Triple-A Durham in a corresponding move. In order to clear a spot on the 40-man roster, catcher Mike Zunino has been transferred from the 10-day to the 60-day injured list.

Patiño missed around three months after straining his oblique during his first start of the season. The 22-year-old returns to action with a start tonight against the surging Orioles. Acquired as part of the Blake Snell swap over the 2020-21 offseason, Patiño started 15 of his 19 appearances during his first year in Tampa Bay. He worked to a 4.31 ERA across 77 1/3 innings, striking out a roughly average 22.2% of opponents against a serviceable 8.7% walk rate. Patiño was a bit home run prone, but it was still a promising showing for a pitcher who won’t turn 23 years old until October.

Tampa Bay has been navigating a brutal stretch of health issues on the pitching side. They still have eight pitchers on the 60-day injured list, and three more (Jeffrey Springs, Josh Fleming and Shane Baz) have landed on the 15-day IL within the past week. Fleming and Baz are each set to miss significant time; the former is likely to lose upwards of a month due to an oblique strain of his own, while the latter won’t even throw for at least four weeks after spraining his elbow.

It hasn’t been much rosier on the position player side, as Zunino is one of five regulars on the shelf. The veteran backstop has been out since June 10 with left shoulder inflammation. The club has expressed concern he could be dealing with a thoracic outlet issue, although he’s undergone Botox treatment in hopes of avoiding season-ending surgery. In either event, Zunino doesn’t seem close to a return to the field, so his IL transfer isn’t much of a surprise. He’ll be ineligible to return to the big leagues before the second week of August.

Zunino had struggled before his IL stint, hitting a career-worst .148/.195/.304 through 36 games. That’s particularly disappointing on the heels of a 33-homer 2021 campaign, and he’s headed towards free agency on the heels of what looks like a mostly lost season. The Rays have turned to Francisco Mejía and the recently-acquired Christian Bethancourt as their pairing behind the dish in his absence.

Rays Select Dusten Knight, Transfer Luis Patino To 60-Day Injured List

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The Rays announced Wednesday that they’ve selected the contract of right-hander Dusten Knight from Triple-A Durham and opened a spot on the 40-man roster for the by transferring righty Luis Patino from the 10-day injured list to the 60-day injured list. Patino is currently out with a strained left oblique, and he’ll now be ineligible to return until early or mid-June. Tampa Bay also optioned Ralph Garza Jr. to Durham to open a spot on the active roster for Knight.

The loss of Patino for upwards of two months is particularly notable for the Rays, who had hoped that the former top prospect could hold down a critical rotation job in 2022. Acquired in the trade that sent Blake Snell to San Diego, Patino worked to a 4.31 ERA in 77 1/3 frames. Still just 22 years of age, Patino ranked as highly as the game’s No. 18 prospect (per Baseball America) back in 2020, and it was hard to argue that based on his dominant minor league performance. Patino graduated to the Majors at just 20 years of age but nevertheless climbed as high as Double-A and, in 263 1/3 minor league frames, has a 2.43 ERA with a 29.9% strikeout rate.

With Patino sidelined, Shane Baz still recovering from arthroscopic elbow surgery, and Ryan Yarbrough on the shelf owing to a groin injury, the Rays’ rotation doesn’t look quite like they drew it up. Shane McClanahan, Corey Kluber and Drew Rasmussen are locked into spots, but the Rays could now lean on prospect Tommy Romero and lefty Josh Fleming more than anticipated — at least for the time being. Tampa Bay, of course, has a deep farm and a knack for developing out-of-the-blue success stories on the mound, so it shouldn’t come as a surprise if they’re able to weather the early storm of injuries.

Knight, 31, made his big league debut with the Orioles this past season after spending parts of eight seasons in the minors. A former 28th-round pick by the Giants (2013), Knight parlayed a strong Triple-A showing — 1.30 ERA, 27-to-12 K/BB ratio in 27 2/3 frames at the time of his promotion — into his first call to the big leagues. Things didn’t go as smoothly in Baltimore, however, as Knight yielded a pair of runs in one inning during his debut effort. He appeared in a total of seven games and was ultimately tagged for 10 runs (nine earned) on 11 hits and five walks with 11 strikeouts through 8 2/3 frames.

Rocky showing in his debut season notwithstanding, Knight has a solid track record in Triple-A, where he’s posted a 3.11 ERA with a 23% strikeout rate and 10.6% walk rate in parts of three seasons — a total of 104 1/3 innings. On the whole, in Knight’s eight minor league seasons, he’s surrendered just 32 home runs in 397 innings of work while whiffing more than 27% of his opponents against an 8.5% walk rate.

Rays Place Luis Patino, JT Chargois On Injured List

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The Rays announced this afternoon that right-handers Luis Patiño and JT Chargois have each been placed on the 10-day injured list. Tommy Romero and Ralph Garza Jr. were recalled from Triple-A Durham in corresponding moves.

Patiño was forced out of yesterday’s start against the A’s in the first inning. The team quickly announced he’d been diagnosed with a left oblique strain, and it seems that injury will keep him out of action for the foreseeable future. Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times wrote this afternoon that strains of similar magnitude can cost pitchers around two months, but manager Kevin Cash said the team will know whether that kind of absence is in the cards next week.

It’s another hit to a Rays rotation that has also lost Shane Baz and Ryan Yarbrough to the IL recently. The aforementioned Romero now looks as if he’ll slide in alongside Shane McClanahan, Corey Kluber and Drew Rasmussen, although Yarbrough’s absence isn’t expected to be especially lengthy. The Rays also have Josh Fleming on hand as a possible starter or long relief option.

Chargois, meanwhile, is dealing with left oblique tightness. That’s not as worrisome as Patiño’s issue, but it’ll still keep him out of action for the next couple weeks. Tampa Bay acquired the hard-throwing righty from the Mariners in last summer’s Diego Castillo deal. He posted a 1.90 ERA in 23 2/3 innings down the stretch, although that came with an alarming 14.3% walk rate. Chargois joins Nick Anderson and Pete Fairbanks as late-game options on the Tampa Bay injured list.

East Notes: Rays, Walls, Yankees, Britton, Mets, Peterson, Syndergaard

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The Rays have activated Taylor Walls from the injured list, per Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times (via Twitter). The move comes after Luis Patino was optioned back to Triple-A yesterday. Walls would give manager Kevin Cash a five-man bench, which would be unusual for the Rays. Still, for now, Walls is back on the active roster, having recovered from a bout of wrist tendonitis. Certainly, the return of Walls puts the immediate future of Wander Franco into question, though there’s been no indication of a roster move at this time. For what it’s worth, Walls held his own with a .222/.337/.333 line in 95 plate appearances, good for a 96 wRC+to pair with stellar marks on the defensive side of the ball — he was credited with 8 DRS, 2.0 UZR, and 2 Outs Above Average in just 214 1/3 innings at short. Staying on the East Coast…

  • Zack Britton is throwing off the mound today for the first time since going on the injured list. He is eligible to return to the Yankees on Monday, per Kristie Ackert of the NY Daily News (via Twitter). Britton has just five appearances on the season. The Yankees might very well try to get him back into games ahead of the All-Star break so as to allow for a measured ramping up process.
  • As for the Mets, David Peterson has been diagnosed with a strained right oblique that will keep him out for around eight weeks, at best guess, but maybe less, per Anthony DiComo of MLB.com (via Twitter). It hasn’t been a great year for Peterson, who owns a 5.54 ERA/4.77 FIP through 115 starts totaling 66 2/3 innings.
  • Noah Syndergaard, meanwhile, was throwing today, but he timetable remains the same. The Mets are looking tentatively at a September 1st return for Thor, notes DiComo.

Rays Make Several Roster Moves

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TODAY: Patino has been officially called up from the taxi squad, the Rays announced.

APRIL 24: The Rays made a quartet of roster moves, including the activation of right-hander Diego Castillo from the COVID-related injury list.  Catcher Deivy Grullon was designated for assignment in a corresponding move to open up a 40-man roster spot, while right-hander Chris Mazza has been placed on the regular 10-day IL due to shoulder inflammation.  Luis Patino has also been added to Tampa Bay’s taxi squad, and is expected to join the active roster tomorrow.  (MLB.com’s Adam Berry was among those to report the news.)

Patino is expected to make his Rays debut Sunday, pitching in some type of piggyback capacity along with scheduled starter Josh Fleming, who told Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times that he isn’t yet sure how the Rays will deploy the combination of Fleming’s relatively soft-tossing arsenal along with Patino’s high-powered fastball.

Patino was the centerpiece of the four-player package sent by the Padres to Tampa Bay last offseason in exchange for Blake Snell.  For a controlled and affordable former Cy Young Award winner, San Diego had to pay a hefty price, and this mean parting ways with one of the sport’s top pitching prospects in Patino.  The 21-year-old righty has had some issues with his command, though his fastball and slider are already considered plus pitches and his changeup isn’t behind, according to MLB Pipeline’s scouting report.  Patino made his Major League debut last season, tossing 17 1/3 innings in the regular season for the Padres (with a 5.19 ERA, 21 strikeouts, and a troubling 14 walks) and then 2 2/3 more frames in the postseason.

Castillo returns after just a one-day stint on the COVID-IL.  Castillo has already recorded four saves in his role as Tampa Bay’s top choice at closer, along with a 2.79 ERA and 33.3% strikeout rate over 9 2/3 innings.

Mazza has an ugly 8.49 ERA over six outings this season, mostly generated during two rough appearances against the Rangers and Red Sox that saw him allow a combined 10 runs over 5 2/3 innings.  Mazza looked better in last night’s game against the Blue Jays, allowing only a single hit in three shutout innings of relief.

After being claimed off waivers from the Reds in early April, Grullon could find himself on the move again without seeing any big league action in a Rays uniform.  Grullon appeared in four games with the Phillies in 2019 and one game with the Red Sox last season, before Cincinnati claimed him away from Boston in December.  Grullon has a .253/.305/.405 slash line and 70 home runs over 2387 career minor league plate appearances in Philadelphia’s system.

Padres Acquire Blake Snell From Rays

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TODAY: The Padres have officially announced the trade.

DECEMBER 28: The Padres have an agreement in place to acquire Blake Snell from the Rays, report Dennis Lin, Josh Tolentino and Ken Rosenthal of the Athletic (Twitter link). Luis Patiño, Francisco Mejía and prospects Blake Hunt and Cole Wilcox are headed back to Tampa Bay. The deal is pending review of medicals. R.J. Anderson of CBS Sports had first reported the two sides were in discussions about a potential Snell trade.

It’s a shocking, out-of-the-blue acquisition for San Diego. The Rays were known to be open to offers on Snell, but there had been no indication prior to tonight any deal was particularly close. Snell, 28, is one of the sport’s best pitchers. The 2018 American League Cy Young winner, he has posted a 2.85 ERA across 337.2 innings over the past three seasons. Along the way, he’s struck out 32.1% of opposing hitters, holding them to a .206/.279/.350 slash line. This past season, Snell worked to a 3.24 ERA/4.35 FIP with his typical strikeout and walk numbers.

Snell becomes the second big-ticket starting pitcher acquired by the Padres within the past six months. San Diego picked up Mike Clevinger from the Indians prior to the August 31 trade deadline. Clevinger, though, required Tommy John surgery after the season, leaving the Padres looking to add to their rotation. They’ve done so with a bang, picking up perhaps the top starter available on the trade market. Snell will join Dinelson Lamet, who’s coming off a Cy Young caliber 2020, at the top of a rotation that also features Zach Davies and Chris Paddack and should soon welcome top prospect MacKenzie Gore, to say nothing of fellow prized prospect Adrián Morejón.

The Padres are clearly aiming to push the reigning World Series champion Dodgers in the NL West in both 2021 and beyond. In addition to that high-end rotation, San Diego boasts an enviable position player core including Fernando Tatís Jr., Manny Machado, Jake Cronenworth, Trent Grisham and a resurgent Eric Hosmer. It’s a win-now strike, but it’s not solely a move for next year. Snell comes with three seasons of remaining control under the terms of the extension he signed with Tampa Bay in March 2019. He’ll make a bargain $10.5MM salary next season, with respective salaries of $12.5MM and $16MM the following two years (his 2023 figure has potential escalators based on future Cy Young finishes).

Snell’s combination of high-end talent and cheap, long-term control meant the Padres had no choice but to offer an elite package to pry him from Tampa. All four players headed back to the Rays are highly-regarded youngsters, headlined by the 21-year-old Patiño. A 2016 international signee out of Colombia, the extremely athletic right-hander quickly emerged as one of the game’s best prospects. Each of Baseball America, The Athletic’s Keith Law, and FanGraphs’ Eric Longenhagen placed him among the top twenty farmhands in the sport entering 2020. He draws praise for a mid-high 90’s fastball and plus slider and shows the makings of a plus changeup and above-average control, per Baseball America.

Patiño made his MLB debut, mostly working out of the bullpen, in 2020. His first 17.1 MLB innings didn’t go well, as he struggled to throw strikes and only managed a 5.19 ERA. But Patiño had only thrown 7.2 innings above A-ball entering the season and surely would’ve been given more minor-league time in 2020 had there been a season. He was nothing short of dominant in the low minors from 2018-19 and is a high-upside arm who could contribute for Tampa Bay in the near future. Patiño has yet to accrue a full year of service and comes with six seasons of team control. If he were to stick in the majors for good, he’d be controllable through 2026.

Hunt, too, has emerged as a top 100 caliber prospect, tweets Longenhagen. The 22-year-old catcher has “been hitting to all fields with power” and shown high-end arm strength in recent workouts, he adds. Hunt placed just 20th among Padre farmhands in Baseball America’s midseason system rankings but seems to have turned a corner in recent months. In 2019, he slashed .255/.331/.381 over 376 plate appearances in Low-A.

While Hunt may have the brighter long-term future behind the plate, Mejía isn’t far removed from being seen as an elite catching talent himself. The 25-year-old ranked among Baseball America’s top 35 overall prospects every year between 2017 and 2019 and headlined the Padres-Indians 2018 Brad Hand blockbuster. He comes with question marks about his aptitude behind the dish and has compiled just a .225/.282/.386 slash line in 362 career plate appearances over the past four seasons.

As MLBTR’s Mark Polishuk recently examined, though, it’s easy to understand the appeal he holds to Tampa Bay. Mejía’s a switch-hitter who demonstrated elite bat-to-ball skills in the minors and has a top-of-the-scale arm. Given his lack of MLB track record, there’s more risk in his profile than there may have been at the peak of his prospect status, but Mejía carries some long-term intrigue and can immediately step into the Rays’ catching mix with Mike Zunino. Mejía has two-plus years of service and can be controlled through the 2024 season. He’ll be eligible for arbitration for the first time next winter.

Rounding out the return is Wilcox, a 2020 draftee out of the University of Georgia. Selected in the third round, Wilcox was generally seen as a first-round talent who fell because of a high bonus demand as a draft-eligible sophomore. The Padres signed the 21-year-old for an overslot $3.3MM signing bonus. The right-hander has a high-90’s fastball with a pair of promising secondaries in his slider and changeup, Baseball America noted in their pre-draft scouting report. Wilcox was ranked twelfth among San Diego farmhands by BA.

From a broader perspective, the trade is symbolic of the respective team-building approaches of the two organizations. Padres GM A.J. Preller has shown a willingness to make bold acquisitions both through trade and free agency, leveraging the treasure trove of prospects the club accrued throughout their rebuild to support an emergent core of homegrown talent. The Padres still boast plenty of talent in the system they could leverage for future additions to the MLB roster, with the bullpen standing out as a potential target area.

Altogether, the addition of Snell cements the Friars alongside the Dodgers and Braves as the top three teams in the National League. The Snell acquisition brings the San Diego payroll to a projected $141MM after factoring in arbitration raises, per Roster Resource. That leaves a little bit of wiggle room under last year’s season-opening payroll of $157MM (before prorating) if ownership is willing to repeat that level of spending.

The Rays, meanwhile, continue to operate without regard to name recognition, showing a willingness to move anyone if they can recoup what they deem sufficient value. Tampa Bay continuously churns the major league roster while prioritizing long-term control and cost certainty. That’s helped them compile a farm system that was generally regarded as the league’s strongest even before today’s haul of prospects.

Between Snell and Charlie Morton, however, the reigning American League champs have moved on from two of their top three starters this winter. Tampa Bay now figures to add pitching this offseason as they look to compete with the Yankees and hold off the Blue Jays at the top of the AL East. With Snell’s contract off the books, the Rays’ payroll is down to a projected $57MM, per Roster Resource, $17MM shy of last season’s opening payroll of $74MM (before prorating).

This post was originally published on December 27th.

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