Detroit Tigers president of baseball operations Scott Harris talks to reporters July 28, 2025, about the Chris Paddack trade with the Minnesota Twins.
Before Detroit Tigers manager A.J. Hinch walked out of the interview room, he shared a significant piece of information, but his last-second reveal as he exited the room left plenty of unanswered questions about the starting rotation.
The 29-year-old posted a 5.40 ERA in six starts after the trade.
It was surprising that Hinch didn’t reveal the news during his pregame session, like he did when the Tigers moved Kenta Maeda to the bullpen in July 2024.
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Without Paddack, the Tigers have four starters in the rotation: Tarik Skubal, Jack Flaherty, Casey Mize and Charlie Morton.
What happens now?
Hinch left the interview room before important questions could be asked.
The Paddack trade is shaping up as a bad move by Tigers president of baseball operations Scott Harris.
The Tigers gave up 19-year-old switch-hitting catcher Enrique Jimenez — their No. 14 prospect who became the Twins’ No. 20 prospect — to acquire Paddack and right-hander Randy Dobnak. The Tigers signed Jimenez for $1.25 million out of Venezuela in the 2023 international class, giving him their largest bonus that year.
Since the trade, Jimenez is hitting .286 with five home runs, 19 walks and 21 strikeouts in 18 games for Low-A Fort Myers in the Twins’ organization.
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Meanwhile, Paddack — a seven-year MLB veteran — has a 5.04 ERA in 27 starts between the Tigers and Twins in the 2025 season. For the Tigers, he turned in a 5.40 ERA with five walks and 14 strikeouts across 30 innings in six starts.
Only three times has Paddack pitched out of the bullpen in his 112-game MLB career: two innings for the San Diego Padres in 2021 and five innings for the Twins in 2023. In those seven innings, he has surrendered four runs despite just one walk and an impressive 12 strikeouts.
When Paddack pitches in relief for the Tigers, it will be his first time in a bullpen role since Sept. 30, 2023, with the Twins — an active stretch of 703 days.
Contact Evan Petzold at epetzold@freepress.com or follow him @EvanPetzold.
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