The Marlins have an agreement with right-hander Chris Paddack, reports Jon Heyman of The New York Post. Miami had been looking to add an affordable back-end starter after trading Edward Cabrera and Ryan Weathers this offseason. It’s a one-year MLB deal, according to Craig Mish of SportsGrid. Paddack is guaranteed $4MM with another $500K available in incentives, Heyman adds.
Paddack returns to the organization that drafted him in the eighth round in 2015. He hadn’t advanced beyond Low-A before the Marlins traded him to the Padres for closer Fernando Rodney at the following summer’s deadline. It ended up being a win for San Diego, albeit not as convincing as it once seemed to be. Rodney struggled to a 5.89 ERA over 39 appearances with Miami. Paddack’s climb to the big leagues was set back by Tommy John surgery that occurred almost immediately after the trade, but the righty reemerged as a strong prospect and broke camp in 2019.
He had a strong rookie season, pitching to a 3.33 earned run average across 26 starts. Paddack looked like a mid-rotation arm at the time, but his numbers quickly regressed. He struggled between 2020-21, and the Padres traded him to Minnesota in a deal for reliever Taylor Rogers on Opening Day 2022. Paddack blew out a few starts into his debut season with the Twins, requiring his second Tommy John surgery in the process. He was limited to two relief outings at the tail end of the ’23 campaign.
Paddack’s return season was again hampered by arm issues, most notably a forearm strain that shut him down shortly after the All-Star Break. He avoided the injured list last year for the first time since 2020 but simply didn’t pitch well. Paddack had an ERA pushing 5.00 over 21 starts when the Twins traded him to the Tigers at the deadline. He was hit hard in three of his first five outings in Detroit and moved to the bullpen in early September. Paddack returned to the rotation for two starts to close the regular season and was scratched from the Tigers’ playoff rosters.
The 30-year-old finished the season with a 5.35 earned run average across 33 outings. He logged a career-high 158 innings but allowed 94 earned runs, the most in the American League. Paddack’s formerly above-average strikeout rates dropped to a disappointing 16.7% as his swinging strike percentage fell below 10% for the first time. He has always struggled with the home run ball and hasn’t had the swing-and-miss stuff to make up for that in recent years.
Paddack’s four-seam fastball averaged 93.7 mph last season. That’s down a touch from its peak in 2021 but a near match for the velocity he showed during his career-best rookie year. The bigger issue is that opponents teed off on the changeup — a .263 average and .491 slugging mark — that was his best pitch early in his career. Paddack has never had a good breaking ball or an overpowering heater, so he’ll need the changeup to be much more effective if he’s to recapture mid-rotation form.
More to come.
Huge fan of this move
Back to the team that drafted him. Interesting.
Solid move for Fish.
Chris Paddack is a poor mans Cal Quantrill. No other takers so he comes to Miami.He will definitely say he loves South Fla and expects a big yr. A good yr for him is 3 wins.
Thanks for the intel. I’m sure it was 100% accurate
Can’t he have opinions.
Only right ones
This is fun! I like this. Would love another vet reliever and an extra bat but solid arm so all the youth and injuries don’t get run into the ground immediately
Reclamation project. Low risk, high reward.
Looking at his stats, I don’t understand how he has been in the league for as long as he has been. Still getting MLB deal for $4 million with incentives today. Not even a lefty.
Meh. I’d rather had Quantrill back (probably for less money). Same goes for Quintana, who remains insigned.
I am a bit surprised they didn’t wait until late spring training to make this kind of move. Maybe there is something going on with some of the long-absent arms (Garrett, Meyer)?
Welp, he’s affordable alright. That he is.
Am I missing something? How did he even get a major league deal nevermind 4MM with incentives. Paddock hasn’t been good since his rookie year in 2019.
Heck you can’t even argue that he’s being signed to eat innings when he’s averaged only 76 IP since 2021.
Those liking this move I disagree with but appreciate. You have been a fan long enough to remember his potential/upside. Thanks for hanging in there.
Unfortunately, his stuff regressed and he rarely misses bats. Agree that he likely takes a minor league deal for most teams as a flyer going into spring training.