Padres right-hander Luis Patiño underwent Tommy John surgical procedure yesterday, per Jeff Sanders of the San Diego Union-Tribune. The righty will miss the rest of 2024 and a few a part of 2025 as properly.
Patiño, 24, started the season on the 15-day injured record attributable to elbow irritation. Plainly subsequent testing revealed the necessity for surgical procedure. Given the everyday 14-18 month restoration vary for Tommy John procedures, he’ll miss the rest of this yr and a big chunk of 2025 as properly.
It’s one more setback for a pitcher who was as soon as a prime prospect. Patiño got here up as a Padres prospect and was on Baseball America’s prime 100 record in three straight years from 2019 to 2021, being within the prime 25 within the latter two. He had a 2.35 earned run common in 234 innings within the minors from 2017 to 2019, hanging out 29.4% of batters confronted whereas strolling simply 8.4%. The Friars known as him up in 2020 and he posted a 5.19 ERA in 17 1/3 innings, although he was solely 20 years outdated at the moment.
Going into 2021, he was traded to the Rays as a part of the Blake Snell deal, going to Tampa alongside Francisco Mejia, Blake Hunt and Cole Wilcox. He tossed 77 1/3 innings in his first season for the Rays, with a 4.31 ERA in that point. His 22.2% strikeout charge and eight.7% stroll charge have been pretty common, however not a foul consequence for a pitcher who was solely 21 years outdated and in his first prolonged have a look at the massive leagues.
However in 2022, an indirect pressure price him greater than three months. He was solely capable of pitch 20 innings on the yr and had a bloated ERA of 8.10 in that point. Final yr, he was saved principally within the minors and showcased vital command woes. In 45 1/3 innings for Triple-A Durham, he walked 13.4% of batters and posted a 6.75 ERA.
He went to the White Sox in a money deal simply earlier than the commerce deadline and his struggles continued. His 17 2/3 innings within the majors have been satisfactory, with a 3.57 ERA. However in 14 1/3 Triple-A innings after the deal, he walked a large 20.3% of batters confronted.
He exhausted his last choice yr and the Sox designated him for project in December. The Padres claimed him off waivers, bringing him again to his unique group. Sadly, he’s now dealing with a big layoff as he recovers from his surgical procedure.
Amid all of those twists and turns, it’s straightforward to neglect that Patiño continues to be extremely younger. Although he’s bounced across the league for years and is now out of choices, he’s youthful than some prime prospects who haven’t even made it to the massive leagues but, equivalent to Will Warren or Christian Scott. He nonetheless has time to get himself again on monitor, although he clearly has an extended restoration forward of him now.
If there’s a silver lining on this for Patiño, it’s that he’s already on the most important league injured record. He’ll finally be transferred to the 60-day selection each time the Padres want his roster spot, gathering large league pay and repair time for the entire yr. He’ll cross the three-year service mark this season and can be eligible for arbitration this winter, although he’ll be a non-tender candidate given his well being standing.
