Young Padres pitcher undergoes Tommy John surgery

Padres right-hander Luis Patino underwent Tommy John surgery Tuesday, per Jeff Sanders of the San Diego Union-Tribune. The righty will miss the remainder of 2024 and some part of 2025 as well.

Patiñno, 24, began the season on the 15-day injured list due to elbow inflammation. It seems that subsequent testing revealed the need for surgery. Given the typical 14-18 month recovery range for Tommy John procedures, he will miss the remainder of this year and a significant chunk of 2025 as well.

It’s yet another setback for a pitcher who was once a top prospect. Patino came up as a Padres prospect and was on Baseball America’s top 100 list in three straight years from 2019 to 2021, being in the top 25 in the latter two. He had a 2.35 earned run average in 234 innings in the minors from 2017 to 2019, striking out 29.4% of batters faced while walking just 8.4%. The Friars called him up in 2020 and he posted a 5.19 ERA in 17 1/3 innings, though he was only 20 years old at that time.

Going into 2021, he was traded to the Rays as 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 time. His 22.2% strikeout rate and 8.7% walk rate were fairly average, but not a bad outcome for a pitcher who was only 21 years old and in his first extended look at the big leagues.

But in 2022, an oblique strain cost him more than three months. He was only able to pitch 20 innings on the year and had a bloated ERA of 8.10 in that time. Last year, he was kept mostly in the minors and showcased significant 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 cash deal just before the trade deadline and his struggles continued. His 17 2/3 innings in the majors were passable, with a 3.57 ERA. But in 14 1/3 Triple-A innings after the deal, he walked a massive 20.3% of batters faced.

He exhausted his final option year and the Sox designated him for assignment in December. The Padres claimed him off waivers, bringing him back to his original organization. Unfortunately, he’s now facing a significant layoff as he recovers from his surgery.

Amid all of these twists and turns, it’s easy to forget that Patiño is still incredibly young. Though he’s bounced around the league for years and is now out of options, he’s younger than some top prospects who haven’t even made it to the big leagues yet, such as Will Warren or Christian Scott. He still has time to get himself back on track, though he obviously has a long recovery ahead of him now.

If there’s a silver lining in this for Patino, it’s that he’s already on the major league injured list. He’ll eventually be transferred to the 60-day variety whenever the Padres need his roster spot, collecting big league pay and service time for the whole year. He’ll cross the three-year service mark this season and will be eligible for arbitration this winter, though he’ll be a non-tender candidate given his health status.