ST PETERSBURG, FLORIDA - JULY 29: Luis Patino #61 of the Tampa Bay Rays delivers a pitch to the New York Yankees in the first inning at Tropicana Field on July 29, 2021 in St Petersburg, Florida. (Photo by Julio Aguilar/Getty Images)
When the Tampa Bay Rays traded established ace Blake Snell to the Padres this past December, Rays General Manager Erik Neander said the deal would not have been made without receiving 21-year-old righthander Luis Patino in return. Neander told Baseball America:
“This is something that we wouldn’t have thought about it if the entirety of the return were years away,’’ Rays general manager Erik Neander said.