The San Diego Padres are finalizing a change to acquire former Cy Young winner Blake Snell of the Tampa Bay Rays for prospect pitcher Luis Patiño receivers Francisco Mejia and Blake Hunt and pitcher Cole Wilcox, sources said familiar with the agreement on ESPN.
The change, which is pending medical reviews, would send Snell, 28, to the Parents and it was agreed exactly two months after the day of Game 6 of the World Series, in which he threw only 5 1/3 tickets bright. Tampa Bay ended up losing the game and series to the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Parents ’aggressiveness has placed them in the midst of change conversations throughout the winter. While discussing possible deals for Yu Darvish of the Chicago Cubs and Sonny Gray of the Cincinnati Reds, his attention was focused on Snell, the contract will pay him $ 39 million over the next three years.
Tampa Bay, the story of swapping the best pitchers includes switching to James Shields, David Price, Chris Archer, will receive significant loot in exchange for Snell. Patiño, 21, the head of the bargain, a 6-foot straight with a straight that stands at 97 mph and a slider considered among the best in the minor leagues. In 17 1/3 innings this season, he recorded an effectiveness of 5.19, struck out at 21 and walked at 14.
Mejia, 25, is a great prospect who had fallen into disgrace in San Diego, but is an ambidextrous batter with power. Wilcox received a $ 3.3 million bonus, a record for a third-round pick, after being pulled out of Georgia in this year’s draft. Hunt, 20, is the least known of the four, but he made an impression in the instructional league this year and is a big receiver (6 feet 3 inches, 215 pounds) the swing, the evaluators said, has a chance to make it rise quickly in the ranking of prospects.
The Athletic was the first to report that the players would go to the Rays in the deal.
This marks San Diego’s second major change for a pitcher in the past six months after acquiring Mike Clevinger of the Cleveland Indians. He threw just 19 innings for the Parents before needing Tommy John surgery, but is expected to return from an elbow injury for the 2022 season.
Even without Clevinger, the Padres have a strong rotation as they try to catch the Dodgers in the Western Division of the National League. Snell has the support of Dinelson Lamet, Zach Davies, Chris Paddack and a panoply of potential No. 1 starters. 5, including MacKenzie Gore, considered baseball’s best left-handed pitching prospect.
The Rays ’depth of rotation has received a significant blow, with the change of Snell and Atlanta Braves hiring free agent Charlie Morton. Tampa Bay still offers great pitching depth and has the best field system in baseball, led by shortstop Wander Franco, the number one prospect in Kiley McDaniel’s Top 100.