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.
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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.
