MINNEAPOLIS -- The Twins made the first of what could be several trades ahead of Thursday’s Trade Deadline on Monday, sending veteran right-handed starter Chris Paddack and Minor League right-hander Randy Dobnak to the Tigers for catching prospect Enrique Jimenez.
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Paddack was one of six pending free agents on the Twins’ roster. He made 21 starts this year for Minnesota, posting a 4.95 ERA in 111 innings. He’s pitched for the Twins since 2023 and is in the final year of a three-year deal.
“It is emotional,” said manager Rocco Baldelli. “It’s not like a very normal day. We have a lot of days that kind of remind you of the next day. Today won’t be one of those.”
TRADE DETAILS
Tigers receive: RHP Chris Paddack, RHP Randy Dobnak
Twins receive: C Enrique Jimenez
Jimenez, 19, is a switch-hitter who currently plays in the Rookie-level Florida Complex League. MLB Pipeline ranks him as the No. 20 prospect in the Twins’ system upon his arrival.
The trade of Paddack is one of several moving parts on the Twins’ pitching staff. In addition to the trade, they also optioned right-hander Travis Adams, who had been pitching in a bulk role behind openers, to Triple-A St. Paul. To take Adams’ roster spot, Michael Tonkin was selected from St. Paul. Beyond that, Bailey Ober is likely to be activated from the injured list soon, perhaps as early as Wednesday.
In the short term, Minnesota will use a bullpen game Tuesday against the Red Sox in what would have been Paddack’s next turn. Then on Wednesday, it appears that Ober will be reinstated from the injured list for his first Major League start since June 28 due to a left hip injury.
It’s unclear what the Twins will do with Paddack’s rotation spot beyond this week. They had been covering for Ober with the combination of Adams and openers. Adams can’t be recalled for 15 days unless there is an injury, so they could simply go with bullpen games for the time being, and they may have to.
David Festa and Pablo López are both on the injured list with shoulder injuries and neither is scheduled to return imminently. Marco Raya, the Twins’ No. 11 prospect, is the only healthy starting pitcher on the Twins’ 40-man roster who is not on the active Major League roster, but Raya has had a very difficult year. He’s walked 41 batters in 64 1/3 innings and holds a 6.58 ERA with St. Paul.
“It’s actually the way you find out about other guys, by giving other guys opportunities who have earned those opportunities,” Baldelli said. “Yes, we’ve been dealing with some injuries on the pitching side, and when you trade one of your starters in an area where there have been some questions and some answers that we need to find, it just makes you have to keep working.”
Beyond the rotation implications, the trade of Paddack makes it clear that the Twins are willing to move veterans for prospects over the coming days. Utility man Willi Castro, outfielder Harrison Bader, lefty reliever Danny Coulombe, catcher Christian Vázquez and first baseman Ty France are all eligible for free agency after the season, and it would not be a shock for any or all of them to be dealt by Thursday’s Deadline.
Clubs are also calling about relievers Griffin Jax and Jhoan Duran and starter Joe Ryan, but all three of them are under team control for well beyond 2025. The club has much less appetite to move players who would be key parts of the next two or three seasons, and as a result they would command significantly higher returns if a trade were to occur.