Our look back into the 2020-21 MLB offseason continues with analysis of the December 2020 trade that sent Blake Snell to the Padres five years ago. The move came two months after the Tampa Bay Rays made the 2020 World Series.
The San Diego Padres were very aggressive five years ago during what was a trade-heavy offseason. The same day that the Padres acquired Yu Darvish, San Diego brought in former AL Cy Young winner Blake Snell from the Rays. It put the Padres firmly in a win-now state, while the Rays acquired a plethora of young pitching talent.
How the Rays looked at the time
It’s ironic to think, looking back, that the Rays traded Blake Snell to the Padres. Perhaps part of the reason why was the reaction that Snell had to the 2019 trade that sent then-Rays outfielder Tommy Pham to the Padres for, as Snell put it, “[Hunter] Renfroe and a damn slapdick prospect.” That prospect, by the way, turned out to be Xavier Edwards.
The trade was complicated. Tommy Pham came off a fantastic 2019 season, one that saw him belt 21 home runs and walk a career-high 81 times. Pham, though, was due for a pay raise after that season, seeing his salary jump from $4.1MM to $7.9MM in 2020.
Tampa opted to trade both Pham and then-prospect Jake Cronenworth for Edwards, Hunter Renfroe, and a player to be named later, who would eventually be Esteban Quiroz. A few weeks later, the two teams would make another trade, as Emilio Pagan went to San Diego for catching prospect Logan Driscoll and Manuel Margot.
It was part of a reset for the Rays, one that allowed the team to add more control for a team that was fantastic in the shortened 2020 season. Tampa Bay rolled through the regular season, winning 40 games to take the AL East. Their rotation played a big role in why, as the Rays had a deep starting five that included Snell, Tyler Glasnow, Charlie Morton, Ryan Yarbrough, and Josh Fleming.
Snell struck out 63 over 50 innings in a healthy 2020 campaign. The previous year, Snell dealt with a toe injury and loose bodies. He tossed only 107 innings in the year after the left-hander won 21 games and took home his first Cy Young Award.
Image via Wikimedia Commons (Keith Allison)
The then-27-year-old then played a massive role in the 2020 postseason, as he struck out 37 over 29 frames. However, arguably his most notable moment during that year was in Game 6, when Kevin Cash took him out after he struck out nine in 5.1 IP. He exited with the lead but Nick Anderson could not hold it. Tampa Bay ultimately lost the game and the series.
Heading into that offseason, Snell still had several years of team control. He wouldn’t become eligible for free agency until 2023. That’s because the Rays inked him to a five-year, $50MM extension in March 2019. The deal bought out all three years of his arbitration eligibility, plus an extra year.
The problem, however, was that the Rays began to cut payroll expeditiously after 2020. Tampa Bay declined options on Charlie Morton and Mike Zunino, and didn’t bring back Renfroe for 2021. Snell’s name began to pop up in rumors a month earlier, with pandemic losses cited as a potential factor.
An aggressive Padres team
As noted in our look at the Yu Darvish trade, the Padres were dead-set on becoming a powerhouse in the National League. San Diego had a strong core led by Fernando Tatis Jr. and Manny Machado. In the 2020 season, the Padres made the postseason and won in the NL Wild Card round against the Cardinals.
The Padres lost to the Dodgers in the NLDS.
San Diego wanted arms to match up against a strong Dodgers team that wouldn’t be going anywhere anytime soon. Mookie Betts gave the team a star right-handed hitter to go along with a strong offense that included Corey Seager, Justin Turner, Max Muncy, and former NL MVP Cody Bellinger.
At the time, many of the Dodgers’ foundational pieces were under the age of 30. The same could be said for the Padres.
How Snell did with the Padres
Snell’s first season with the Padres was not a great one. The left-hander was burned by a combination of well-hit contact, walks, and injuries. Snell had three separate IL stints, coupled with a 4.8 BB/9 that ranked as the worst of his MLB career at the time.
With the Rays, Snell had his moments of poor command. He had below-average BB% rates and regularly threw wild pitches. In fact, he led the American League in wild pitches (7) in his final season with the Rays.
However, one constant is that even though Snell often dared hitters to chase out of the zone — and sometimes got burned by that approach — his stuff often bailed him out. After a better second half in 2022, Snell wound up having an incredible 2023.
The left-hander struck out 235 batters, posted a league-best 2.25 ERA, and won his second Cy Young Award in the 2023 season. Sure, Snell walked a Major League-high 99 batters. It didn’t matter, as Snell’s arsenal — highlighted by a strong four-pitch mix — got him through unscathed most of the time.
What the Rays got
The Rays received players in the trade for Snell. Two were pitchers: Luis Patiño and Cole Wilcox. Catchers Francisco Mejia and Blake Hunt were the other players involved.
Both Mejia and Patiño had MLB experience at the time of the trade.
Patiño, a hard-throwing pitcher who rose to become one of San Diego’s top pitching prospects, worked primarily out of the bullpen in 2020.
Mejia was once a top prospect in the Indians’ organization before Cleveland flipped him for relievers Brad Hand and Adam Cimber back in 2016. With Zunino no longer on the roster, Mejia had the potential to grow into a regular.
Image via Wikimedia Commons (Keith Allison)
Mejia spent parts of three seasons with the Rays. His best year came in 2021, when Mejia slashed .260/.322/.416 with 24 extra-base hits over 84 games. However, Mejia loved to hack out of the zone and didn’t walk much. Add that to below-average pop, and Mejia didn’t stick with Tampa Bay for much longer.
The Rays outrighted him off the 40-man in 2023 before he elected free agency that year. He did eventually re-sign on a Minor League deal in 2024 but didn’t stick. Mejia bounced around between the Brewers & Nationals organizations, as well as a stint in the Mexican League.
Hunt was a 2017 second-round pick who first made it to full-season ball in 2019. Now 27 years of age, Hunt bounced around between the Rays, Orioles, and Mariners’ organizations since the trade. Hunt got a call-up in July 2024 by the Orioles. He never played in a game, though.
As for the pitchers, Patiño didn’t work out as hoped. Considered at one point an elite pitching prospect, Patiño pitched well in his rookie season in 2021. The right-hander struck out 74 over 77 frames and looked to be a building block. However, poor command did him in. Tampa Bay traded Patiño to the White Sox in 2023.
Two years later, Patiño signed with the Padres as a Minor League free agent. San Diego cut him in August.
The last piece of this deal was Cole Wilcox, a third-round pick by San Diego in 2020. Wilcox, at one point, was considered a fringe first-round arm, thanks to his hard fastball and other offerings. However, he required Tommy John surgery in 2021 and never got back to his elite prospect status.
Wilcox moved into a relief role and received his first call-up in 2025, nearly five years after the trade.
Summary
The Snell trade, as a whole, worked out well for the Padres. San Diego didn’t get ace-like production from Snell in 2021 but got what was needed in 2022 and 2023. However, one major problem with the trade wasn’t completely on Snell.
Playoff success was the goal with acquiring Snell. After all, why acquire a former Cy Young winner? Snell only made three postseason starts as a Padre, all of which came in 2022. He pitched very well against the Dodgers in that year, although his starts against the Mets & Phillies weren’t as clean.
Snell, though, didn’t stick in San Diego. After winning the Cy Young in 2023, Snell — along with a lot of other free agents — was greeted with a cold offseason defined by short-term deals and payroll reductions. The left-hander took a short-term deal with the Giants just before Opening Day, allowing him to re-enter the market in 2024.
That’s exactly what happened. And, Snell — rather than facing the Dodgers, much like he had from 2020 through 2024 — wound up joining the Dodgers. He ended his first season in LA with a World Series championship.
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