New pitchers Paddack, Pagan figuring out their roles for Twins

Both Chris Paddack and Emilio Pagan could sense their time in San Diego was dwindling.

Pagan, a reliever who has been traded four times and will be in his sixth MLB season on his fifth team, got a heads up from Padres General Manager A.J. Preller in the waning days of spring camp that he would likely be on the move yet again.

Paddack didn't have that forewarning, which made Thursday's trade to the Twins such a shock.

"The past week has definitely been kind of crazy," Paddack said Friday before the Twins opened the season with a 2-1 loss to Seattle at Target Field. "Just been trying to stay off social media. I don't have Twitter for these reasons, with all the noise out there."

After the Padres acquired Sean Manaea from Oakland on Sunday, Paddack's agent, Scott Boras, told the three-year starter he might be dealt. The Twins and the Yankees were reportedly pursuing him; the Twins got him and Pagan in exchange for All-Star reliever Taylor Rogers and outfielder Brent Rooker. Twins President of Baseball Operations Derek Falvey said after the trade he'd had his eye on Paddack since 2017.

The righthanders had the unique experience of spending all spring training with one team only to meet a whole new group of teammates on Opening Day.

Paddack, a 26-year-old Texas native, and Pagan, a 30-year-old from South Carolina, do have some familiarity with Twins bench coach Jayce Tingler, who managed the Padres the past two seasons. Tingler praised both for being great people to add to a team.

In three MLB seasons, Paddack has a 4.21 ERA. He was strong in his rookie year of 2019, with a 3.33 ERA with 153 strikeouts through 26 starts, but hasn't quite reclaimed that youthful glow since. He endured injuries to his elbow and oblique in 2021, when he had a 5.07 ERA in 108⅓ innings.

"Even though I had a successful year my first year in the big leagues, I kind of struggled the past couple of years, learning what it takes to stay in the big leagues and how to get big league hitters out," Paddack said. "… I'm a better pitcher now than I was in '19. Numbers might not say it, but I know I am."

Tingler added when Paddack is "on," he can really command his fastball. He also has a solid changeup and is working on other pitches like a curveball or a slider.

Twins manager Rocco Baldelli said Paddack will throw a bullpen Saturday and should start the sixth game of the season Wednesday against the Dodgers at Target Field as Baldelli anticipates a six-man rotation that he will reassess after a couple weeks.

Pagan had a 20-save season for the Rays in 2019, but his role for the Twins is a bit unclear.

"They just said, 'Be ready to pitch probably towards the end of the game.' They didn't say a specific inning," Pagan said. "I know there's a lot of guys here from Tampa, so I was in Tampa, that's kind of how it ran there and then I was able to take that ninth inning and roll with it down the stretch.

"But more than anything, I just want to win games. I've been in the playoffs for most of my seasons in the big leagues, and so I'm hungry to get back and hopefully get deeper this time."