Cleveland Indians: Padres give up on former top Tribe prospect in Blake Snell trade
Cleveland Indians fans will recognize the name of Francisco Mejia in the Blake Snell trade.
The Cleveland Indians made a mega trade in the summer of 2018, acquiring closer Brad Hand from the Padres, with top Tribe prospect Francisco Mejia headed for San Diego.
Now, the Padres gave up on Mejia, sending him to Tampa (along with Luis Patino) in their trade for pitcher Blake Snell.
Two years can be a lifetime in baseball, and that’s been the case for Mejia, who looked like a sure thing at the plate while clubbing his way through the Tribe’s minor league system.
Mejia played in a grand total of 116 games with the Padres from 2018-2020, and he hit .229 with 12 homers and a .680 OPS. In the minors, Mejia was a .295 hitter, to go along with a .881 OPS.
The trade is also reflective of the market. Snell had a huge season two years ago en route to the Cy Young Award. He wasn’t great in 2019, but looked to be regaining his form in 2020, helping pitch Tampa to the World Series.
This was a salary dump for Tampa, who were on the hook to pay Snell $39 million over the next three years.
All Tampa really has to show for him is Patino–not necessarily a bad thing. it’s just not the prospect pile acquiring a pitcher like Snell would’ve commanded in the past. Patino is San Diego’s No. 3 prospect (27th in baseball). At 27, Mejia isn’t even considered a prospect any more by MLB Pipeline.
The Indians had questions about Mejia’s viability as a catcher, and started playing him in the outfield before trading him. He never caught on at the position and wasn’t good enough to stick in the Padres’ starting lineup.
The trade makes you wonder about the deal that sent Mike Clevinger to San Diego last summer. Might the Indians have been able to score Patino in the deal? At the time, it was reported Cleveland was going for quantity, over quality.
Next. Lindor trade setting up to be a dud. dark
The trade also shouldn’t make Tribe fans feel confident about the return in a Francisco Lindor trade. Prospects are as valuable as ever. Teams just aren’t going to give up three of the top guys on the farm for one year of Lindor.