Twins’ Chris Paddack goes on the injured list for his planned rest earlier than hoped

PHOENIX – He knew that rest would come at some point, but Chris Paddack hoped it wouldn’t come until after the All-Star break.

Unfortunately, the Minnesota Twins starter will have to take a planned break because baseball’s Midsummer Classic is still three weeks away. On Tuesday, the Twins placed Paddack on the 15-day injured list due to right shoulder fatigue.

Paddack, who underwent reconstructive elbow surgery for the second time in May 2022, will go on the IL after battling a dead arm and physical fatigue over the past month. Paddack is 5-3 with 70 strikeouts and a 5.29 ERA in 78 1/3 innings this season.

Although Paddack wants better results, he is happy with his physical condition. Paddack’s new goal is to pitch for the Twins one more time before the teams head into the All-Star break on July 14 and show that his IL stint is nothing more than a planned blip on the radar.

“Unfortunately, it’s hard to predict what a full season is going to look like with a player who threw 8-10 innings last year,” Paddack said. “Nobody’s going to talk about it in October. If anything, they’re going to say, ‘Man, how did you manage to overcome that fatigue to make sure you were out there throwing another 80 innings?'”

It was clear to everyone involved that Paddack would need time off at some point this season. When he returned to play in late 2023, Paddack pitched a total of 18 1/3 innings for the Twins between Triple A and the regular season and postseason.

Before those seven appearances, Paddack hadn’t pitched since April 2022, when he started five times and pitched 22 1/3 innings. As optimistic as Paddack and the Twins were after he flashed on the radar primarily as a relief pitcher in 2023, they were mentally preparing for hurdles.

Chris Paddack has started just five times in the last two seasons, having started 15 games in the league. (Vincent Carchietta / USA Today)

Teams typically approach pitchers returning from Tommy John surgery with caution, and given that there are few pitchers who have recovered from two Tommy John surgeries, it was assumed from the start that the Twins would keep a close eye on Paddack.

In his last five starts, Paddack’s throwing velocity has been inconsistent. The right-hander made a mechanical change to his lower body in late May that allowed him to jump from an average 91.5 mph four-seamer on May 30 to 95 mph in his next appearance (June 5). From there, he averaged 95.2 mph (June 10) and 93.7 mph (June 16), dropping to 91.4 mph in his final start on Friday.

After Friday’s start, Paddack said the ball felt like a dumbbell in his hand. In those five starts, Paddack’s ERA rose from 4.39 to 5.29.

“You look at the objective information from start to finish and listen to his subjective take after every start,” Twins head coach Nick Paparesta said. “And you use your mind to act smart and be smart about his career. I think ultimately he’s got some shoulder pain and he’s a little worn out and exhausted. It’s really not that hard to put all the pieces together. … Putting pitchers on the road and objectively showing that maybe they don’t have the velocity they used to have is just a smart idea to do what’s best for the player.”

Paddack hasn’t touched a ball since Friday and won’t do so for the next day or two. Paparesta and Twins manager Rocco Baldelli said the pitcher will be reevaluated then and the team will determine how to proceed.

Although he acknowledged the possibility that the Twins could rest him during the All-Star break, Paddack would like to return before then. Paparesta said returning before the break is “ultimately the goal,” but did not give an exact date.

“The last thing we want to do is put him in a vulnerable position,” Baldelli said. “He knows that. We’re going to rehabilitate him and get him back on the mound.”

𝗔𝗕𝗠𝗘𝗟𝗗𝗘𝗡 𝗠𝗮𝗹 𝗠𝗮𝗹 𝗠𝗮𝗹 💣💣💣#MNTwins #MLB pic.twitter.com/cRZKBzPtp3

— Bally Sports North (@BallySportsNOR) 26 June 2024

The Twins are still considering how to proceed after Paddack was ruled out for the final game of the series against Arizona on Thursday. The team promoted Ronny Henriquez on Tuesday to add another player to the bullpen.

It’s possible the Twins could play with a bullpen, although Baldelli hasn’t resorted to that tactic often in his five-plus seasons as manager. Paddack is also out for 15 days, meaning he’ll be in action multiple times. Baldelli ruled out the possibility of using the team’s off days — they didn’t play on Monday and are off next Monday — to give his remaining starters their regular rest.

Instead, the Twins are likely considering whether to choose between Triple-A starters David Festa, the team’s most promising pitcher, Caleb Boushley and Randy Dobnak. Boushley is already on the 40-man roster, but the Twins likely see the most potential in Festa, who is rated as the most promising player by MLB.com.

Twins catch up but fail 5-4 in Arizona

The Twins overcame another early deficit on Tuesday, tying Arizona in the seventh inning after already trailing by four runs, with home runs by Byron Buxton and Ryan Jeffers tying the score.

But the Diamondbacks took advantage of a two-out walk by Jorge Alcalá in the seventh inning and defeated the Twins 5-4 at Chase Field. The loss dropped the Twins’ record to 43-36.

Buxton went 3 for 4 with two runs. His solo home run in the fifth inning finally got the Twins on the scoreboard after a series of hard-hit balls found the gloves early. Buxton then hit a single in the seventh inning after Carlos Santana drew a walk, and both scored as Jeffers hit the stands for the first time since May 30, a span of 58 batting appearances.

Buxton and Jeffers nearly connected again with two outs in the ninth inning to tie the game. Buxton hit a double and easily scored on Jeffers’ hard hit to left, but the ball hung around long enough to be caught and tie the game.

“We had to fight to really get anywhere in this game,” Baldelli said. “We fell behind early. Some of the runs we allowed were because they have athletic players, they put the ball in play, they hit it, they chop it. They put it in play. They hit some balls hard, too, but sometimes you lose a ball game like that. It’s not a good feeling to go into the clubhouse after a game like that where you think we did a lot of things right and played really pretty well. … You almost feel like you can win a game like that more often than you lose it with the way we play, but that’s not the case (on Tuesday), so we have to keep going.”

𝗗𝗿𝗼𝗼𝗻 𝗱𝗮𝗹𝗲𝗻!!! 🚀🚀#MNTwins #MLB pic.twitter.com/Wx409MuK1w

— Bally Sports North (@BallySportsNOR) 26 June 2024

Twins starter Joe Ryan adjusted after a rocky start.

Ryan got a two-run homer from Ketel Marte in the first inning and two more runs in the second on an RBI triple from Eugenio Suárez off Buxton’s glove and an RBI single from Tucker Barnhart.

From then on, Ryan struck out 15 of the last 16 batters he faced.

“Jeffers did a great job between innings with (pitching coach Pete Maki) and just made a few adjustments,” Ryan said. “I think they had a good plan in the first round and were able to get ahead of me. … (The home run is) frustrating, but I executed my pitch and that’s all I can do in that situation. He was at the point before me.”

(Top photo of Carlos Correa of ​​the Twins forcing Geraldo Perdomo out of the game: Chris Coduto / Getty Images)