The Minnesota Twins have agreed to acquire right-handed pitchers Chris Paddack and Emilio Pagán in a trade with the San Diego Padres, sources told ESPN’s Jeff Passan on Thursday.
The Twins sent left-hander Taylor Rogers and outfielder Brent Rooker to the Padres, sources said.
Paddack, 26, impressed in San Diego as a rookie in 2019, going 9-7 with a 3.33 ERA. But he has struggled ever since, with his ERA rising to 4.73 in 2020 and then to 5.07 last season, when he battled elbow and oblique injuries for the past two months before being shut down in September.
The Padres have a wealth of arms, with Yu Darvish, Joe Musgrove, Blake Snell and Nick Martinez leading the charge earlier in the spring and then Sean Manaea coming on board earlier this month via trade with the Oakland Athletics. Also, Mike Clevinger should join the staff sometime this month as he returns from a second Tommy John surgery in September 2020 and some knee soreness that plagued him at the end of spring training.
The abundance of quality pitching made Paddack available for trade, and the Twins were a logical partner.
Minnesota spent big on offense this offseason, signing free agent Carlos Correa to a three-year, $105.3 million contract. Meanwhile, his rotation has been revised in the last year. Opening Day starter Joe Ryan is a rookie, Bailey Ober is in his second season and veterans Sonny Gray, Chris Archer and Dylan Bundy are all new to the team.
Paddack offers some depth, which could be key considering Archer is coming off another injury-ravaged season and Bundy had an ERA of over 6.00 in 2021 with the Angels.
Pagan, 30, made 67 appearances in the Padres’ bullpen last year, posting a 3.73 ERA.
Rogers, 31, saved nine games for the Twins last season, pitching with a 3.35 ERA in 40 appearances out of the bullpen.
Rooker, 27, hit .201 with nine home runs and 16 RBI for the Twins last season.