There were some good moves during Derek Falvey’s time with the Minnesota Twins, but one of the biggest mistakes was trading for Chris Paddack. The Twins acquired Paddack from the San Diego Padres shortly before the start of the 2022 season and his four seasons in Minnesota were filled with more conversations about injuries and team control than wins and strikeouts.
Paddack has since moved on, leaving Minnesota in the build to last year’s fire sale at last year’s trade deadline. But he appears to have fallen down on his luck again after being designated for assignment by the Cincinnati Reds on Monday.
It marks the second time that Paddack has been DFA’d this season, posting an 0-7 record and a 6.96 ERA in 13 appearances between the Reds and the Miami Marlins. But with the right-hander struggling to find a job, it’s another reminder of Falvey’s trade that went horribly wrong.
Chris Paddack’s latest DFA brings back memories of Twins dumping Brent Rooker
The Twins acquired Paddack and reliever Emilio Pagan in exchange for closer Taylor Rogers and outfielder Brent Rooker in April of 2022. The idea was to trade Rogers for maximum value as he entered his final year of team control and trading for Paddack, who was a former top 100 prospect in the Padres organization, seemed like the right idea.
Unfortunately, injuries got in the way. Paddack made just five starts in 2022 before undergoing his second Tommy John surgery. While he returned at the end of the 2023 season, he never lived up to his billing from the trade, going 10-14 with a 4.88 ERA in 45 appearances (43 starts) for the Twins over four seasons.
Despite the injuries on the mound, Falvey could never quit Paddack, signing him to a three-year, $12.5 million contract extension as he rehabbed in the winter of 2023. The Twins finally pulled the plug last July when they traded Paddack and Randy Dobnak to the Detroit Tigers for first baseman and catcher Enrique Jimenez, who is currently at High-A Cedar Rapids, but it was too late to salvage any value out of that trade.
Pagan survived a rough first year with the Twins, posting a 4-6 and a 4.43 ERA in 59 appearances for the Twins in 2022 but he rebounded to go 5-2 with a 2.99 ERA in 2023 and has spent the past three years with the Reds. Rogers spent time with the Padres, Milwaukee Brewers, San Francisco Giants, Reds and Chicago Cubs before finding his way back to Minnesota this season, but the real mistake was throwing in Rooker, who has become a two-time All-Star and three-time 30-home run hitter with the Athletics.
Four years after the trade, it’s probably time for Twins fans to move on. But it’s also a reminder that trading for a starter with elbow issues was probably a bad idea and one the Reds and Marlins have realized after allowing him to take the mound this season.
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