Marlins’ Adam Mazur Undergoes UCL Surgery
12:05pm: Mazur underwent a UCL reconstruction (Tommy John surgery) and had an internal brace installed, reports De Nicola. The estimated timetable for his return from that hybrid procedure is 13 to 14 months.
9:00am: Marlins righty Adam Mazur will undergo elbow surgery today and miss the entire 2026 season as a result, MLB.com’s Christina De Nicola reports. Mazur wasn’t locked into Miami’s rotation but was among the top depth options in the event of an injury to one of Sandy Alcantara, Eury Pérez, Chris Paddack or likely fourth and fifth starters Max Meyer and Braxton Garrett. It’s not yet clear which type of procedure he’ll require. Mazur recently reported elbow discomfort to the team and was quickly sent for an evaluation with renowned surgeon Keith Meister.
Mazur, 24, came to the Marlins alongside infielder Graham Pauley, top pitching prospect Robby Snelling and minor league infielder Jay Beshears in the 2024 trade that sent lefty Tanner Scott and righty Bryan Hoeing to the Padres. He’s a 2022 second-rounder who posted big numbers up through the Double-A level but has run into some trouble at both the Triple-A level (5.03 ERA, 168 1/3 innings) and in more limited major league work (6.22 ERA, 63 2/3 innings).
In 2025, Mazur split the season between Triple-A Jacksonville and Miami, tossing 107 1/3 innings with a 4.36 ERA at the former and 30 innings with a 4.80 ERA with the latter. He turned in solid strikeout and walk rates in Jacksonville but was far too homer-prone to keep his ERA down. Homers were less of an issue in his six big league starts, but he recorded a bottom-of-the-barrel 13.7% strikeout rate in his 30 MLB frames.
Having traded Edward Cabrera to the Cubs and Ryan Weathers to the Yankees, the Marlins entered camp with Alcantara, Pérez and free agent signee Paddack locked into rotation spots. Meyer and Garrett have both pitched only four official spring innings, but they’re both former top-10 picks and top prospects who have experienced success in the majors previously.
Garrett notched a 3.63 ERA in 247 2/3 innings from 2022-23 before a 2024 UCL surgery wiped out his entire 2025 season. Meyer has a 5.29 ERA in 25 career starts but has had big starts to his season in both 2024 and 2025. Miami optioned him in 2024 despite that big start, keeping him down for months and leaving Meyer six days shy of the service time he’d have needed to be a free agent following the 2028 season instead of the 2029 season. In 2025, a hip injury surfaced and eventually required season-ending surgery.
Depth options on the 40-man roster include swingman Janson Junk (4.17 ERA, 110 innings in 2025), Ryan Gusto (acquired from the Astros in last summer’s Jesús Sánchez trade), Bradley Blalock (acquired from the Rockies in January) and 2020 second-rounder Dax Fulton (healthy again after multiple injuries, including a June 2023 internal brace procedure). The aforementioned Snelling and fellow left-hander Thomas White are the two most notable rotation arms in waiting; both rank among baseball’s top 100 prospects, but neither has needed to be added to the 40-man roster just yet. That’ll very likely change in ’26, as both are considered nearly MLB-ready. White is the more touted of the two but has a bit less experience in the upper minors, given his status as a 2024 draftee compared to Snelling, a 2023 draftee.
Since Mazur is on the 40-man roster, has big league experience and was in major league camp at the time of injury, he’ll be placed on the major league injured list. If and when Miami needs an additional 40-man roster spot, he’ll be placed on the 60-day IL. Mazur will accrue a full year of service time and retain the lone minor league option year he has remaining. Miami will be able to control him via arbitration through at least the 2031 season.
Marlins Sign Chris Paddack
Feb. 12: Miami has officially announced the Paddack signing. Right-hander Ronny Henriquez was placed on the 60-day IL to open up room on the 40-man. Henriquez had internal brace surgery in December and is expected to miss the 2026 season.
Feb. 9: The Marlins are reportedly in agreement on a one-year, $4MM guarantee with back-end starter Chris Paddack. The Boras Corporation client can earn an additional $500K in performance bonuses. Miami, which had been looking to add an affordable starter after trading Edward Cabrera and Ryan Weathers, will need to open a spot on the 40-man roster once the signing is official.
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 very good 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 2024 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 in five seasons 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 had been his best pitch. 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.
The righty has always had excellent control. He has never walked even 6% of opponents in a season. Paddack continues to attack the strike zone but the stuff was far too hittable last season. Pitching his home games at loanDepot Park could help mitigate some of the home run issues. Paddack enters camp with a strong chance to open the year as Clayton McCullough‘s fifth starter.
Eury Pérez and Sandy Alcantara are locked into the top two spots. Max Meyer and Braxton Garrett are each entering camp healthy, though both pitchers are coming back from surgeries. Janson Junk, Ryan Gusto and Adam Mazur are depth options on the 40-man roster, while top prospects Thomas White and Robby Snelling loom in the upper minors. Snelling pitched very well over 11 Triple-A starts last year and could break camp. White only made two starts at the top minor league level and seems destined to begin the season in Triple-A.
Those pitchers all have a higher ceiling, but everyone in the back-end mix has questions about their injury history or lack of MLB experience. That’s also the case for Paddack, but it’s an affordable move to add another starter after the Cabrera and Weathers trades. It’s a similar move to last year’s $3.5MM signing of Cal Quantrill shortly before camps opened.
The signing brings Miami’s payroll estimate to $72MM, as calculated by RosterResource. That’s a little above last year’s $65MM Opening Day mark, but Miami ranked dead last in spending. They’re again projected for the lowest team payroll in the majors, although they’re probably ahead of the Guardians in actual 2026 salary given the deferrals on Cleveland’s recent José Ramírez extension.
Jon Heyman of The New York Post first reported the agreement and $4MM salary plus $500K in bonuses. Craig Mish of SportsGrid confirmed it was a one-year major league deal.
Image courtesy of Matt Krohn, Imagn Images.
Tigers Notes: Skubal, Bullpen, Vierling
Tigers ace Tarik Skubal gave the team a scare last week when he exited his start due to tightness in his left side. The obvious initial concern was that Skubal had suffered an oblique or intercostal strain that could necessitate a notable absence, but subsequent testing did not reveal a major injury. Several days of rest appear to have eased any discomfort the Cy Young front-runner was feeling. Skubal told the Tigers beat yesterday that he felt “100 percent” one day after a bullpen session.
“If anything, I probably worked a little bit harder just to make sure that I was good to go,” Skubal said of Monday’s bullpen session (via Evan Woodbery of MLive.com). “There was nothing there. It was all good.”
Skubal added that he fully anticipates making his next start tomorrow. He called last week’s early exit “one of those weird things” and wasn’t sure what had caused the discomfort, but for now, it seems the issue is largely behind him. For a Tigers club that’s already lost Reese Olson and Jackson Jobe for the season, Skubal’s ostensibly clean bill of health creates an even greater sigh of relief.
Outside of Skubal, Detroit’s rotation has been a mess since the trade deadline. Neither Charlie Morton nor Chris Paddack, the Tigers’ two rotation additions ahead of the deadline, has bolstered the staff. Morton sports a woeful 5.92 ERA in eight starts since coming to the Motor City, and Paddack has already been moved to the bullpen after posting a 6.38 ERA in five starts. Jack Flaherty (5.14 ERA in his past eight starts) and Casey Mize (4.85 ERA in his past eight starts) have also been limping to the finish line. Overall, the Tigers’ rotation has a 4.77 ERA dating back to Aug. 1 — and that number skyrockets to 5.40 when subtracting Skubal’s contributions.
The Tigers deployed their “pitching chaos” tactic to great effect late last season, using Skubal as their lone traditional starter and otherwise deploying an all-hands-on-deck approach. They haven’t reverted to that form just yet, and it’s worth noting that both Mize and Flaherty have had some strong starts in the past couple weeks. Presumably, Flaherty and Mize are the favorites for postseason starts behind Skubal right now, but last year’s approach showed that the Tigers aren’t beholden to conventional setups with their pitching staff.
Detroit is also hoping for some reinforcements in the bullpen sooner than later. Yesterday’s injury report from the club indicated that right-hander Kyle Finnegan tossed a bullpen session yesterday. He landed on the shelf earlier this month due to an adductor strain. Evan Petzold of the Detroit Free Press tweets that Finnegan, who tossed 14 1/3 shutout innings after being acquired from the Nationals in July, could embark on a rehab assignment in the near future.
Fellow deadline pickup Paul Sewald has already started his own rehab assignment as he works back from a July shoulder injury. He’s allowed one run and punched out four hitters in 4 2/3 innings of rehab work — most recently pitching two-thirds of an inning just last night. A return shouldn’t be too far off, barring any late setbacks.
While the updates on Skubal, Finnegan and Sewald are largely positive, the news regarding outfielder/third baseman Matt Vierling is far less rosy. Vierling, out since early August due to an oblique strain, began a minor league rehab assignment earlier this week. However, the Tigers announced in their latest injury report that Vierling has been pulled from that rehab stint after just one game due to continued soreness in his oblique region.
“I’m going to stop short of calling it a setback because I don’t know that yet,” manager AJ Hinch said last night (via Chris McCosky of the Detroit News). “But it’s clearly slowed down our plan with him. He’s pretty bummed out about it and he should be. We are, too. It’s just a matter of being re-evaluated and seeing what he can tolerate and what we can hope for.”
Hinch didn’t declare Vierling out for the season but conceded that the best he could answer regarding Vierling’s playoff availability was a simple, “I don’t know.” Presumably, Detroit will have more information on his status in the next few days.
It’s been a frustrating season for Vierling, who turned 29 the same day he had to be pulled from that rehab stint. He’s been limited to just 31 games and 100 plate appearances due to a pair of shoulder injuries and a pair of strains in his left oblique. When on the active roster, he’s turned in a tepid .239/.310/.307 batting line.
That pedestrian line is a far cry from Vierling’s quietly solid .257/.312/.423 performance during a 2024 season that saw him connect on a career-high 16 home runs. Vierling also set highwater marks in doubles (28), games played (144) and plate appearances (567). On the other side of the ball, he chipped in passable glovework at third base and above-average defense across all three outfield spots. It’s still possible he makes it back to the roster, particularly if the Tigers go on a deep run in October, but a return doesn’t appear to be on the immediate horizon.
Tigers Move Chris Paddack To Bullpen
Right-hander Chris Paddack is moving from Detroit’s rotation to the bullpen. Tigers manager A.J Hinch announced the development today to reporters, including Evan Petzold of the Detroit Free Press.
Paddack, 29, was acquired from the Twins ahead of the trade deadline. The Tigers gave up catching prospect Enrique Jimenez in order to acquire Paddack and also minor leaguer Randy Dobnak from their division rival.
The Detroit rotation has taken a number of hits this year. They signed Alex Cobb in the offseason but he still hasn’t thrown a pitch for them due to hip injuries. Jackson Jobe required Tommy John surgery in June. Ty Madden has been out all year due to a shoulder strain and isn’t expected to return. The same day the Tigers acquired Paddack, Reese Olson was placed on the 60-day injured list due to his own shoulder strain.
To address those injuries, the Tigers added Paddack and also Charlie Morton at the deadline. Those two have been in the rotation alongside Tarik Skubal, Jack Flaherty and Casey Mize over the past few weeks.
The Paddack acquisition received criticism at the time, as he wasn’t having a great season. He started 21 times for the Twins, logging 111 innings, allowing 4.95 earned runs per nine. His 5.7% walk rate was good but his 17.6% strikeout rate and 36.4% ground ball rate were both subpar figures. Since coming to Detroit, things have not improved. He has made six starts with a 5.40 ERA, 11.6% strikeout rate, 4.1% walk rate and 33.3% ground ball rate.
That performance will get Paddack bumped out of the rotation. What’s not known is what comes next. The Tigers have recalled Sawyer Gipson-Long to start today’s game. It’s unclear if this is a spot start or if he has a rotation gig going forward.
It’s possible they may not replace Paddack in the rotation at all. The Tigers famously deployed “pitching chaos” last year, using a large number of openers, bullpen games and bulk guys, while Skubal was at times the only real starter. They have Gipson-Long going tonight and Mize on Wednesday. They are then off on Thursday and host the White Sox for three on the weekend. After that, they are off every Monday, playing six games in a row in between each of those off-days.
They could again do a lot of bullpen games, deploying a four-man rotation while using guys like Gipson-Long, Troy Melton and Paddack for multiple innings. Cobb has been moved to a relief role as the Tigers try to get him healthy somehow, but he could perhaps cover some innings. Keider Montero is on optional assignment and could be recalled.
Ultimately, it’s not a huge deal for the club now. They are cruising to a division win, currently holding a nine-game lead over the Royals. Paddack wasn’t going to be in their playoff rotation, so they’ll try him out of the bullpen. They probably regret giving up Jimenez to a division rival, though he’s only 19 years old and it’s hard to say if he’ll eventually make it as a major leaguer down the line.
For Paddack personally, it’s less than ideal. He is a few weeks away from reaching free agency for the first time. He has shown promise earlier in his career, particularly his 2019 rookie season with the Padres. He tossed 140 2/3 innings that year with a 3.33 ERA, 26.9% strikeout rate, 5.5% walk rate and 40.2% ground ball rate.
Unfortunately, his results backed up from there. Tommy John surgery wiped out a decent chunk of his 2022-2024 seasons. He has been able to log 141 innings so far this year, the highest total of his career, but he hasn’t regained his previous strikeout stuff. He’ll now be going into free agency without a lot of momentum and will likely be looking for a bounceback pillow deal somewhere.
Photo courtesy of Junfu Han, Imagn Images
Twins Deadline Notes: Phillies, Duran, Jax, Paddack, Reds
It wasn’t really a shock that the Twins became deadline sellers, as the club’s downturn in June and July pretty much closed the door on Minnesota’s chances of contending. However, the sheer scope of the Twins’ selloff was eye-opening, as the club swung nine different trades within four days of the July 31 deadline and sent 11 different players to eight separate clubs. Several behind-the-scenes details about the trades the Twins both did and didn’t make have filtered out since July 31, and Bobby Nightengale Jr. of the Minnesota Star Tribune adds a few more notes about the front office approached this pivotal four-day period.
Jhoan Duran and Griffin Jax were both pursued by several teams, though “the Dodgers didn’t show much interest in” either reliever, Nightengale writes. This runs somewhat contrary to a pre-deadline report that linked Los Angeles to the duo, though it could be that the Dodgers simply weren’t interested in paying what ended up being a high price tag for either pitcher. Though the Dodgers were known to be considering pretty much every reliever on the market, the reigning World Series champs’ biggest bullpen splash ended up being another Twin in Brock Stewart. Though Stewart is arbitration-eligible through 2027, his “trade value was more commensurate with a rental reliever because of his injury history,” according to Nightengale, which is why Minnesota obtained outfielder James Outman (something of a spare part in L.A.) rather than prospects.
The Twins wanted two top-100 prospects for Duran, an asking price commensurate with the closer’s quality and the fact that he is arb-controlled through 2027. It was a big enough ask to dissuade the Mariners, who “were deep into talks with the Twins” and may have been the runners-up in the Duran talks. The Phillies refused to give up Andrew Painter for Duran or anyone, and ended up landing Duran for catching prospect Eduardo Tait and young starter Mick Abel.
Technically, this trade package didn’t meet Minnesota’s ask, since Abel was no longer part of top-100 rankings heading into the 2025 season. Still, Abel has been a regular on such rankings for the previous four years, was selected 15th overall by the Phils in the 2020 draft, and is a big league-ready starter after making his MLB debut this season.
Tait and Leo De Vries (acquired by the A’s from the Padres in the Mason Miller blockbuster) were the only consensus top-100 prospects who changed teams at this year’s deadline, speaking to the high value that clubs place on these top prospects. Nightengale writes that Minnesota felt Tait “had the highest upside” of any of the players that the Mariners offered for Duran, and preferred Tait to another top Phillies prospect in shortstop Aidan Miller. This would seem to imply that Philadelphia was also willing to include Miller as the top prospect in the package, which tracks with past reports indicating that Painter and perhaps Justin Crawford were the only real untouchables within the Phils’ minor league system.
Duran was dealt on July 30 and the Twins then swung another trade with the Phillies the next day, moving Harrison Bader for two lower-level prospects (outfielder Hendry Mendez and right-hander Geremy Villoria). The Twins and Phillies had previously talked about combining Duran and Bader into a single deal, but Nightengale writes that Minnesota wanted to move Duran separately.
This left Bader as one of the seven trades Minnesota swung on the July 31 deadline day itself, including the deal that sent Jax to the Rays for Taj Bradley. Since Jax is also arb-controlled through 2027, the Twins initially wanted a prospect package “similar to the one they received in the Duran deal.” This could explain why “Jax’s market didn’t pick up until the last day,” Nightengale notes, and perhaps why teams like the Dodgers were balking. Rather than getting a prospect back for Jax, the Twins instead got an experienced MLB starter who is controlled through 2029, and as the club is betting that Bradley has a higher ceiling of performance.
Minnesota’s trading flurry began when Chris Paddack and Randy Dobnak were sent to the Tigers on July 28 in exchange for catching prospect Enrique Jimenez. Paddack was known to be receiving interest from the Rays and Yankees, and Nightengale adds that the Reds were another club at least exploring the right-hander’s market. With Paddack off the board, Cincinnati pivoted to land another rental starter in Zack Littell as part of a three-team trade involving the Rays and Dodgers.
Tigers Acquire Chris Paddack
The Tigers turned to a division rival for rotation help on Monday afternoon. Detroit acquired righty Chris Paddack and took on the contract of minor league pitcher Randy Dobnak in a deal that sent catching prospect Enrique Jimenez to the Twins. Detroit placed Reese Olson on the 60-day IL with a shoulder strain, shedding some extra light on their decision to acquire a back-end starter.
Paddack, 29, has had an up-and-down career and has been inconsistent this year as well. He debuted with the Padres back in 2019 and had arguably his best season that year. He tossed 140 2/3 innings with a 3.33 earned run average, 26.9% strikeout rate and 5.5% walk rate. In the next two seasons, his strikeout rate fell to 23.7% and then 21.6%. His ERA climbed to 4.73 and then 5.07. He was traded to the Twins but then Tommy John surgery in May of 2022 wiped out most of that year and the following season.
He was back on the mound last year but made multiple trips to the injured list due to ongoing issues with his throwing arm. He logged 88 1/3 innings over 17 starts with a 4.99 ERA, 20.6% strikeout rate and 5.5% walk rate.
This year, Paddack has at least avoided the IL. Though as mentioned, his results have been wobbly. Overall, he has a 4.95 ERA in 111 innings over 21 starts, with a 17.6% strikeout rate and 5.7% walk rate. He got out to an atrocious start, allowing nine earned runs to the White Sox in his first outing, lasting just three and a third innings. His second start wasn’t much better, allowing three earned runs in four innings against the Astros. He had a 14.73 ERA after those two starts.
From there, he got in a nice groove. Over his next 11 starts, Paddack tossed 64 innings with a 2.25 ERA. His 19.2% strikeout rate in that time was still subpar, but he limited walks to a 6.4% clip. He got a little help from a .218 batting average on balls in play and 84% strand rate, so his 3.60 FIP and 4.28 SIERA were a bit skeptical of his ERA in that span. He then allowed eight earned runs in a start against the Astros last month. Since then, he has a 6.31 ERA in seven starts, though the most recent one was great. He allowed one run over six innings against the mighty Dodgers, striking out eight.
The results haven’t been outstanding but Paddack seemingly got a decent amount of interest. Jon Heyman of The New York Post says the Rays were involved while Bob Nightengale of USA Today reports that the Yankees pursued him as well.
That might be a reflection of the league-wide conditions. Very few teams are clearly out of contention in the expanded playoffs. Some of the clubs that are buried in the standings don’t have much to sell. It all adds up to a seller’s market. Paddack isn’t an ace but he’s been healthy and has decent control. He’s also affordable, making just $7.5MM this year while many other reliable vets are making double or almost triple that. There’s only $2.5MM of Paddack’s salary left to be paid out in the remainder of the season. That seems to be enough to get several teams on the phone.
For the Tigers, adding some starting depth is a sensible move. Alex Cobb has been on the IL all year due to hip issues and it’s unclear if he’ll be able to contribute anything. Jackson Jobe had Tommy John surgery. José Urquidy is still trying to return from last year’s Tommy John and hasn’t yet started a rehab assignment. Sawyer Gipson-Long and Ty Madden are also on the shelf.
The Detroit rotation currently consists of Tarik Skubal, Jack Flaherty and Casey Mize. Olson was the arguable #2 starter behind Skubal before his injury. They recently called up Troy Melton but he allowed six earned runs in his first big league start. Adding Paddack could perhaps allow the Tigers to send Melton back down to the minors. Paddack might not be in the club’s playoff rotation if the postseason started today, but he fills in some depth that has been lost to injuries and could step up if further injuries arise over the remainder of the season.
Dobnak’s inclusion is presumably about his contract. He signed an early-career extension with the Twins which hasn’t panned out. Since the end of the 2021 season, he has mostly been in the minors, with less than 15 big league innings on his ledger. In 60 2/3 Triple-A innings this year, he has a 7.12 ERA.
As part of that aforementioned extension, he is making a $3MM salary this year, leaving about $1MM left to be paid out. There’s also a $1MM buyout on a $6MM 2026 club option. Presumably, the Tigers are taking on the remaining $2MM commitment in exchange for a lighter prospect return than Paddack would have otherwise required.
Jimenez, 19, is an intriguing prospect but he’s a long-term play. He’s only 19 years old. The Tigers signed him out of Venezuela in the 2023 international signing period, giving him a $1.25MM bonus. A switch-hitter, he has appeared in 137 minor league games thus far, having slashed .255/.363/.413 for a 114 wRC+. Baseball America lists him as the #17 prospect in the Tigers’ system with a 50 grade on the 20-80 scale, but he’s characterized as an extreme risk. FanGraphs ranked him #28 in the system back in March, noting that his small stature and poor blocking skills are areas of concern.
For the Twins, this is likely the first of a few sell-side moves. They have fallen to 50-55, which puts them 5.5 games back of a playoff spot. FanGraphs only gives them an 11% chance of cracking the postseason. It was reported about a week ago that they were more seriously considering trades of rental players. Paddack is the first go, but Willi Castro, Harrison Bader, Danny Coulombe, Ty France and Christian Vázquez could follow. The larger question is if they will move interesting controllable pieces such as Jhoan Durán, Griffin Jax or Joe Ryan. All reports have suggested the asking prices on those three are high, so the Twins would have to be blown away for a trade to come together.
Dobnak’s inclusion in this deal perhaps suggests the Twins could look to cut costs in the coming days. They didn’t appear to have a huge budget to work with in the winter, limiting themselves to modest one-year deals for Bader, Coulombe and France. The franchise is actively for sale, with an ownership change expected in the coming months. Perhaps they will look to have other clubs absorb as much of the money owed to their impending free agents as possible, even though eating some of the money would lead to a greater prospect return. It’s possible the Pohlad family, which still owns the club for now, will look to save themselves a few million bucks in the coming days.
Time will tell on that. For now, the Twins have already saved a few million and added a young catching prospect to their system. The Tigers, meanwhile, have added some rotation depth as they hope to cruise to a division title. Despite a recent rough patch, they have an eight-game lead over the Guardians in the Central.
Ken Rosenthal and Dan Hayes of The Athletic first reported the Tigers were nearing an acquisition of Paddack for a prospect. Rosenthal was first to note a Paddack trade was in place. Robert Murray of FanSided reported the Twins were receiving Jimenez in return. ESPN’s Jeff Passan had Dobnak’s inclusion.
Photos courtesy of Jesse Johnson, Matt Krohn and Tom Vizer, Imagn Images
Tigers To Place Reese Olson On 60-Day IL With Shoulder Strain
The Tigers are placing right-hander Reese Olson on the 60-day injured list due to a shoulder strain. Jason Beck of MLB.com was among those to relay the news. That will open up a 40-man roster spot for Chris Paddack, who is reportedly being acquired from the Twins. Beck adds that outfielder Parker Meadows has been placed on the 10-day IL due to a quad strain. Infielder/outfielders Andy Ibáñez and Ryan Kreidler have been recalled to take the active roster spots of Olson and Meadows.
The news on Olson sheds more light on the club’s decision to acquire Paddack. Olson had started against the Blue Jays on Thursday and gone 5 2/3 innings. Per Cody Stavenhagen of The Athletic, Olson first felt discomfort on Saturday during a bullpen session.
That meant that, coming into today, the Detroit rotation was down to Tarik Skubal, Casey Mize and Jack Flaherty. They recently called up prospect Troy Melton, but he allowed six earned runs in his first big league start. Keider Montero was recently optioned to the minors.
Paddack isn’t an ace but he’s a strike-throwing veteran who lengthens the overall group. The Tigers also have Alex Cobb, Jackson Jobe, Ty Madden, Jose Urquidy and Sawyer Gipson-Long on the IL. Adding Olson to that pile seemingly prompted them to go out and add Paddack.
What’s still unclear is if Olson will be available for the postseason. Per Evan Petzold of the Detroit Free Press, the door is still open for that, though it depends on how things develop between now and then. Perhaps the Tigers will look to make another rotation addition in the coming days, depending on how things develop with Olson.
There’s also a bit of a position player shuffle today, with Meadows hitting the IL again. He missed the first couple of months of the season due to issues in the musculocutaneous nerve in his right arm. Since coming off the IL, he has hit just .200/.270/.296. Now his frustrating season continues with another injury setback, though it’s unclear how long he’ll be out.
Matt Vierling has also been playing some center field lately and could take over for Meadows, though he’s not having a great season either, currently sporting a .210/.306/.226 line. Javier Báez played some center earlier this year but has retaken the shortstop job more recently. If Báez were to go back out to the grass, Zach McKinstry could move from third to short, with guys like Ibáñez and Kreidler helping to fill in at the hot corner. Kreidler can also play a bit of center. Once Paddack reports to the team, the Tigers will need an active roster spot, so one of Ibáñez or Kreidler will probably be going right back down.
Photo courtesy of Kevin Sousa, Imagn Images
Twins More Seriously Listening To Offers On Rental Players
The Twins have stumbled out of the gate with a 1-3 record in the second half and are beginning to more seriously weigh trades of their short-term players, reports Jon Heyman of the New York Post. Utilityman Willi Castro, outfielder Harrison Bader and left-handed reliever Danny Coulombe are the team’s three most appealing free agents, but the Twins also have righty Chris Paddack, first baseman Ty France and backup catcher Christian Vazquez set to hit the market at season’s end.
[Related: Minnesota Twins Trade Deadline Outlook]
Of course, more of the focus for contending clubs will be on Minnesota’s more controllable and higher-profile talents. Top starter Joe Ryan and high-leverage relievers Jhoan Duran and Griffin Jax will draw widespread interest. Heyman notes that Twins brass won’t turn interested clubs away without hearing them out, but the they would understandably need to be bowled over to consider moving anyone from that group. All three pitchers are controlled for two additional seasons beyond the current campaign.
Among the rental players, Castro fits the broadest number of teams, given his versatility. The 28-year-old switch-hitter is enjoying a nice season at the plate, hitting .258/.350/.435 with 10 homers, 14 doubles, two triples, eight steals (ten attempts) and a career-best 10% walk rate. He’s been productive from both sides of the dish, has above-average speed (74th percentile, per Statcast) and is capable of playing second base, shortstop, third base and the outfield (although defensive metrics have panned his work at shortstop and in center). Castro is earning $6.4MM, making him affordable for virtually any contender.
Bader’s defensive excellence and bounceback year at the plate ought to garner plenty of interest as well. He’s hitting .249/.330/.438 as Minnesota’s primary left fielder, but he’s only in left because of Byron Buxton‘s presence in center. Bader still grades out brilliantly at any outfield slot, and while he’s typically showed notable platoon splits, he’s posted nearly identical numbers against righties and lefties alike in 2025. By measure of wRC+, Bader has been 15% better than average at the plate. He’s sporting his highest walk rate in a 162-game season since 2019 and hitting for more power than he has since 2021 (12 home runs, 11 doubles, .189 ISO in 282 plate appearances). He’s on a one-year, $6.25MM contract with a mutual option that obviously won’t be exercised by both parties.
Coulombe has been quietly terrific. He missed three weeks earlier in the season with a forearm strain but has shown no ill effects. His 0.65 ERA in 27 2/3 frames is the best in baseball among the 433 pitchers who’ve tossed at least 20 innings, and Coulombe has fanned 26.9% of his opponents against a 6.5% walk rate. He doesn’t throw hard (90.2 mph average fastball) and isn’t going to make it the whole season without surrendering a home run — he’s currently yet to do so — but there aren’t many better left-handed options on the market. He’s playing on a one-year, $3MM contract.
The rest of the Twins’ rental options have some track record but are in the midst of poor seasons. Paddack still has good command, but he’s sitting on a 5.14 ERA and career-worst 16.4% strikeout rate. He had a nice run from mid-April to mid-June, but Paddack has never really held up for a whole season under a starter’s workload and has been hit hard since mid-June. He looked impressive in relief when he came back from Tommy John surgery in 2023 and is making a relatively affordable $7.5MM this season, so perhaps a club might roll the dice on him as a bullpen option. Otherwise, his appeal as a fifth starter is fairly limited.
France had a nice start but has seen his role decrease and is now mired in an awful 5-for-41 slump that’s dropped his previously solid batting line to .245/.309/.348. He’s not striking out and has played a strong first base, but he’s a bat-first player who’s in his third straight down year at the plate. France’s $1MM salary is low enough that another club could well roll the dice on adding him to its bench, but he’s not going to net the Twins anything of substance in a trade.
The 34-year-old Vazquez is in the final season of a three-year, $30MM contract that hasn’t gone as hoped. He was always signed to be a glove-first catcher and remains a plus defender, but his once-passable offense has cratered and he’s been thoroughly outplayed by Ryan Jeffers, who has long since claimed the starting role in Minnesota. Vazquez’s .182/.249/.260 batting line in 159 plate appearances is among the least-productive in baseball. He’s still such a good defender that another club might take him on if the Twins ate most of the money he’s owed, but like France and Paddack, he’s not going to net a prospect of any real note.
There are other players the Twins could conceivably market. Right-handed reliever Justin Topa has pitched decently on a $1MM salary and has a cheap $2MM club option for the 2026 season. The aforementioned Jeffers is in his penultimate season of club control, but the Twins lack an heir apparent in the upper minors and starting catchers rarely change teams midseason. Trevor Larnach has been a roughly league-average bat at DH and in the outfield corners and is controlled two more seasons beyond the current one. Righty Brock Stewart has been excellent since the Twins signed him to a minor league deal a couple years back (2.44 ERA, 32.6 K% in 73 2/3 innings since 2022), but he’s frequently been injured. He’s being paid $870K and has two seasons of club control remaining. He could be a nice bullpen piece in future Twins seasons, but if a team is willing to make a decent offer, there could be some temptation to sell high as well.
One player clearly not going anywhere is Buxton. The 2025 All-Star is signed for three more seasons, has a full no-trade clause, and during last week’s All-Star break called himself a “Minnesota Twin for the rest of my life.”
Twins’ Trade Conversations Have Picked Up In Recent Weeks
The Twins have been one of the quietest teams in Major League Baseball this winter, but president of baseball operations Derek Falvey tells Dan Hayes of The Athletic that trade conversations have picked up over the past couple weeks. Naturally, Falvey didn’t delve into specifics but expressed optimism that there’s been some “traction” in recent talks as some teams have begun to focus more on the trade market. “…I can tell you we’ve had more active conversations in the last couple of weeks than we’ve had prior,” said Falvey.
Minnesota has yet to sign a major league free agent this winter, and their only 40-man roster additions have come via the Rule 5 Draft (Phillies righty Eiberson Castellano) and via minor trades to acquire utilityman/catcher Mickey Gasper from Boston and former top catching prospect Diego Cartaya from Los Angeles. (The Dodgers had designated Cartaya for assignment prior to the trade.)
Ownership mandated a payroll cut of nearly $30MM for the Twins last offseason due to uncertainty stemming from the bankruptcy proceedings of Diamond Sports Group/Bally Sports. The Twins and DSG/Bally reached a one-year agreement at a reduced rate for 2024 broadcasts. Minnesota has now turned broadcast rights over to the league, securing some certainty for the upcoming season but still checking in at a reduced rate relative to their former Bally’s deal.
Despite the lesser television revenue, however, the Twins are not under any mandate to further reduce payroll from their currently projected mark, Hayes reports. For Minnesota fans, that’s good news to an extent, though Hayes adds that there’s minimal room for any additions. If the Twins have eyes on any decisive upgrades, they’d likely need to trim payroll to make that happen.
Christian Vazquez (owed $10MM in the final season of his contract) and Chris Paddack (owed $7.5MM in the final season of his own deal) have been the most speculated-upon targets, as the Twins have other options behind the plate and in the rotation. Ryan Jeffers is the clear starter at catcher, while the rotation includes Pablo Lopez, Joe Ryan, Bailey Ober and Simeon Woods Richardson — with prospects David Festa and Zebby Matthews among the options in the fifth spot, should Paddack be moved.
Hayes reports that utilityman Willi Castro ($6.4MM, free agent at season’s end) has been “asked about often” this winter as well. Presumably, given the switch-hitting Castro’s versatility, productivity and popularity with the rest of the roster, the Twins would prefer to hold onto him. Falvey & Co. surely wouldn’t mind dumping the final $4MM owed to twice-outrighted pitcher Randy Dobnak on another club, though they’d likely need to send a low-level prospect to another club to facilitate such a swap. The Twins have at least heard other teams out as they’ve approached about the likes of Lopez and Carlos Correa, but Falvey has also made clear that despite payroll constraints the Twins are in win-now mode, calling Lopez, Correa and Byron Buxton “key” players to the team’s 2025 hopes in the same breath. (Correa and Buxton have full no-trade protection anyhow.)
Vazquez’s contract is clearly underwater, but given the $4MM guarantee secured by a comparable glove-first backstop in each of the past two winters (Austin Hedges), the Twins may not have to eat his entire salary to facilitate a trade. Paddack’s $7.5MM guarantee seems reasonable, if not something of a discount, in the current climate for free agent starters. Castro has clear surplus value after hitting .251/.334/.395 (108 wRC+) with 21 homers and 47 steals in 1044 plate appearances and providing decent or better glovework at nearly every position on the diamond over the past two seasons.
The Twins have spent the offseason looking for help at first base, and they’ve been in the market for a right-handed-hitting outfielder as well. Their recent stockpiling of catching depth has led to plenty of speculation about finding a potential deal to move a portion of Vazquez’s contract, though there’s still no indication anything is close on that front.
Most of the first base market has been picked over. Pete Alonso is surely out of Minnesota’s price range, barring a wild about-face from ownership, but Justin Turner remains unsigned and there are rebound candidates to consider (e.g. Anthony Rizzo, Ty France, Connor Joe). Affordable corner outfield options who bat from the right side include Mark Canha (who can also play first), Randal Grichuk, Austin Hays, Tommy Pham and Ramon Laureano.
Twins fans will want to check out Hayes’ piece in full, as it also includes several updates on the ongoing sale process. That comes just one day after La Velle E. Neal III of the Minneapolis Star Tribune reported that there have been “double digit” inquiries from potential buyers/groups, Hayes writes that billionaire Justin Ishbia, who co-owns the NBA’s Phoenix Suns with his brother Mat, is “very, very serious” in his desire to buy the team and “could be aggressive” in his reported bid. The Ishbia brothers are the only known suitor to date, though Neal reported yesterday that some notable former Twins players — Joe Mauer, Justin Morneau and Torii Hunter among them — could each have interest in pitching a new ownership group on securing a 1-2% stake in the club.
Twins Have Received Calls Regarding Carlos Correa
The Twins are facing tight payroll restrictions this offseason as they look to improve after narrowly missing the playoffs thanks to a brutal collapse back in September. With the club’s budget for 2025 reportedly set at $130MM and a payroll that RosterResource currently projects at $142MM, it’s hardly a secret that the club figures to make trades that will shed payroll this winter. Per Bobby Nightengale of the Minnesota Star Tribune, that’s led some clubs to inquire with the Twins about the availability of star shortstop Carlos Correa. While Nightengale goes on to emphasize that there’s been no indication those inquiries have become more serious than a preliminary phone call, president of baseball operations Derek Falvey nonetheless addressed the possibility of a Correa trade during Day 1 of the Winter Meetings on Monday.
“Obviously, you expect teams to call on players like that, especially with where we are and some of the conversations we’re having with other clubs,” Falvey said of Correa, as relayed by Nightengale. “But we want to win, so a high bar is set.”
That’s a notable change in tone from last month, when Falvey emphasized that a Correa trade wasn’t something the club was “focused on” and called Correa a “key” part of the club’s plans alongside Byron Buxton and Pablo Lopez. Even so, The Athletic’s Dan Hayes reported Monday that multiple sources with the Twins indicated that it’s “hard to envision” the club parting with Correa. Given that apparent reluctance to deal their star shortstop and the apparently extremely preliminary nature of inquiries into his availability, it still seems more likely than not that Correa will remain in a Twins uniform for Opening Day 2025.
With that being said, the idea of a Correa trade is certainly intriguing. Correa’s recent history has been extremely tumultuous. After signing with Minnesota on a short-term deal during the 2021-22 offseason, Correa re-entered free agency the following year after a strong platform season and reached agreements with both the Giants and Mets before those deals ultimately fell through due to medical concerns. That led Correa to re-up with the Twins on his current deal, which calls for him to earn $128MM over the next four seasons before a series of four team options that Correa can vest into guaranteed years by reaching certain plate appearance thresholds or earning a top-5 MVP finish, a Silver Slugger award, or an LCS/World Series MVP award in the season prior to the option.
Correa’s complex contract also comes with a full no-trade clause, meaning that he would have to approve of any deal that shipped him out of Minnesota. Further complicating any trade talks involving Correa is his up-and-down performance since re-signing in the Twin Cities; the shortstop’s 2023 season saw him post just 1.8 fWAR and a 95 wRC+ in a full workload of 135 games as he played through plantar fasciitis. His performance bounced back to its previous impressive level in 2024 as he hit .310/.388/.517 with a 155 wRC+, but plantar fasciitis once again hobbled him and limited the shortstop to just 86 games. Overall, the 30-year-old has hit .261/.341/.444 (119 wRC+) in 221 games over the past two seasons.
Given Correa’s tantalizing value when healthy, it’s easy to imagine at least some high-revenue clubs being willing to gamble on his contract. That’s clearly not going to be enough to get a deal done, however, as Falvey has made clear that he isn’t interested in merely dealing Correa for the sake of salary relief. Even if Correa were willing to waive his no-trade clause to depart Minnesota, it’s unclear if interested clubs would be willing to part ways with the sort of package that would entice Falvey to make a deal in order to land him. While the club has 2022 first-rounder Brooks Lee as an option potentially capable of taking over shortstop in the event that Correa is traded, he struggled to a .221/.265/.320 slash line in his first taste of big league action and may not be ready for an everyday job to start the 2025 season.
With the apparent unlikelihood of a Correa deal coming together in mind, it still seems as though the Twins will have to shed salary somewhere. To that end, Nightengale highlights utility man Willi Castro, right-hander Chris Paddack, and catcher Christian Vazquez as “obvious trade candidates,” though he suggests that none of the three would bring back much of significance in return beyond salary relief. It’s not the first time that trio has come up as potential trade candidates this winter, but if the Twins managed to clear all three of them off the books entirely that would free up a combined estimate of $23.7MM using the $6.2MM projection of Castro’s final trip through arbitration offered by MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz.
If Minnesota were able to free up all of that money, they’d seemingly have around $10.5MM to invest in other areas of the roster. To that end, Nightengale notes that Falvey described adding a first baseman “has some appeal” with Carlos Santana having elected free agency last month, and that a right-handed complement to lefty outfielders Matt Wallner and Trevor Larnach could also make plenty of sense for a club that lost Manuel Margot to free agency in November as well. Ramon Laureano, Mark Canha, and Austin Hays are among the interesting budget options available on the right-handed outfield market, while Santana is joined by the likes of Josh Bell, Anthony Rizzo, and Paul Goldschmidt in the lower tiers of the first base market this winter.