Twins place Chris Paddack on 15-Day IL after experiencing dead arm symptoms

Earlier this season the Minnesota Twins got chewed up by the injury bug, and it seems to be back for seconds.

Chris Paddack was placed on the 15-day IL on Tuesday with what is being officially described as arm fatigue. There are other more concerning ways his trip to the IL is being talked about, but right now it seems the Twins are simply trying to get him some rest.

It's worth noting that Paddack is coming back from Tommy John surgery he underwent back in 2022. That caused a bit of delay in him making an impact for the Twins, although he was able to return in late-September last season and was expected to be a big part of the team's plan for replacing Sonny Gray this season.

So far that plan has worked to varying degrees of success; Paddack heads to the IL with a 5.29 ERA but a 5-3 record. He failed to make it more than 4.2 IP in his last start, which was a game the Twins lost to the lowly A's 6-5.

How concerned should Twins be about Chris Paddack's arm injury?

There are two things that the Twins need to answer moving forward with Paddack hitting the IL. The first is how serious this injury is.

Paddack getting placed on the IL isn't ideal, but it also doesn't come as a total surprise -- nor a move with a ton of concern. We'll have to see how things play out, but there were already discussions about giving Paddack some rest which seems to be the reason this move was made.

While that doesn't seem to be a huge cause for concern, Betsy Helfand reported that Paddack experienced some dead arm after his last start on Friday. That's a little more alarming that simple arm fatigue, although neither is good when it comes to a pitcher who is coming back from Tommy John surgery.

It doesn't sound like there's too much concern from the Twins, though. If anything, this is the sort of call the team should make; Paddack pitching at a high-level is far more impactful later in the season and in October than it is now.

Who replaces him in the rotation in the interim is the next big thing that needs to be addressed. The Twins were already short on starters in the minors, with Louie Varland looking like the most feesbile option to get called up.

There's a chance that David Festa gets the call as well, although it might be too soon for him to make his debut. It's a perfect situation, but Varland pitching as well as it did in his last spot start might have earned him another shot to prove himself.

Either way, Paddack's health is the main concern. For as important a piece he was to the Twin's offseason strategy to not spend any money, this could be a major moment for how this season breaks.

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