The White Sox have designated right-hander Luis Patiño for assignment. The team announced on Wednesday that they had selected the contract of right-hander Josimar Cousin from Double-A Birmingham and DFA’d Patiño in a corresponding move.
Patiño was a former Top 100 prospect who the White Sox acquired in August from the Tampa Bay Rays. He threw 17.2 innings for the White Sox posting a 3.57 ERA. Patiño nearly had as many walks (12) as he did strikeouts (13). It was one of the front office’s many attempts to catch lightning in the bottle with a bargain bin pickup to help fill out the rotation.
On the season Patiño owned a 4.57 ERA and 1.615 WHIP in 21.1 innings in nine appearances split between Tampa Bay and Chicago. The 24-year-old right-hander has struggled to find his footing in the big leagues. In four seasons he has a 5.02 ERA with just 8.2 strikeouts per nine innings and a hefty 11.2 percent walk rate.
With Patiño off the White Sox 40-man roster, the front office has seven days to place him on waivers, trade him, release him, or outright him to the minor leagues.
Cousin has yet to make his big league debut and isn’t ranked inside the White Sox top 30 prospects. The 25-year-old Cuban began the 2023 season in rookie ball but managed to work his way up to Double-A Birmingham by the season’s end.
The bulk of his season was spent in Winston-Salem, where he tossed 41 innings and posted a 5.71 ERA. Cousin had a respectable walk rate but High-A opponents managed to hit .259 off of him which is concerning considering his age. He made two starts in Double-A at the end of the year and had a 4.00 ERA in nine innings.
It is unclear what his role with the White Sox will be next season. He will likely carve out a role in the bullpen as a middle reliever if he makes the team.
