10:00 a.m .: The Twins saved another move in their off-season tornado for the start day (before that opener was postponed to Friday due to weather). Minnesota announced on Thursday the acquisition of right-handed protagonist Chris Paddack and right-hander Emilio Pagan in exchange for the closest Taylor Rogers and the first baseman / outfielder Brent Rooker. The Gemini will also receive a player to be named later and send cash to San Diego in the deal. The Padres have also announced the trade. Minnesota acquires a pair of guns under the club’s control for many seasons, as Paddack, who earns $ 2.25 million in 2021, is just in his first season of refereeing eligibility. It is controlled through the 2024 campaign. Pagan, meanwhile, is earning $ 2.3 million this season and is controlled through arbitration until 2023. Rogers, 31, is set to earn $ 7.3 million this season in his final year of control of the club before reaching the free agency. Rooker, 27, does not yet have a full year of service in the Major League and is under control until the 2027 season. The 26-year-old Paddack and the three remaining seasons of control of the club are the title of the trade for Minnesota. The eight round of 2015 broke out as one of the top 100 prospects of the sport directed at the 2019 season and he achieved this advertising campaign when he published a 3.33 ERA with a 26.9% strike rate and just a 5.5% walk rate up to 140 2 / 3 innings as a beginner. At that point, Paddack looked like a cornerstone for the Friars, and any short-term trades involving him would seem almost impossible to understand. Paddack, however, could not replicate this brilliant rookie performance. His campaign for 2020 resulted in an ERA 4.73 with a reduced strike rate of 23.7%. He was still working on a “full” schedule of 12 starts and 59 participants during the shortened 2020 season, but the results and underlying metrics were not as strong as his 2019 debut. Paddack’s 2021 season represented another step back . in 108 1/3 innings, dropped to 5.07 ERA with a low of 21.6% for his career. Most troubling, however, was the fact that he ended the season with a low-grade rupture of the ulnar collateral ligament in his elbow. The twins are probably convinced that Paddack’s elbow is healthy enough to rely on him as a turning point not only in 2022 but for the next several seasons. If so, they will focus their work with Paddack on further developing a third pitch to help him regain his form for 2019. Paddack averaged 94.9 mph with his fastball last season and has been praised for his change of perspective, but his curveball was a below-average pitch for him in the big leagues. If the Twins are able to help Paddack create this third step, it makes sense that the heater and its change could be brought closer to their efficiency in 2019. There is a chance for a (second) overhaul with Paddack, especially as his administration remained elite even in the 2020-21 games. The extent to which Minnesota can improve this third step (or develop a whole new one) will be indicative. Minnesota also gains two years of control over the 30-year-old Pagan – another 2019 (with the Rays) special who had the toughest luck in San Diego. Acquired by Padres after 2.31 ERA with a dominant strike rate of 36% and a gait rate of 4.9% in 2019, the Pagan has been less effective since it was shipped to Southern California. In 85 1/3 innings with the Friars, he posted an ERA of 4.75 with a 26.3% turnout and 7.7% gait. Pagan has always been prone to Homer, but this flaw increased to new levels in 2021, when he averaged 2.27 long balls per nine frames. Despite his recent races, however, Pagan has higher than average percentages and speed. And, like Paddack, his command was nothing short of excellent (except for the abbreviated 2020 season). He has walked just 6.2% of his opponents in the big category and has earned only 0.210 average hitting and 0.264 on base percentage in his career. The tendency to serve at home was Pagan’s only real flaw, but if the Twins can solve this problem – as the Rays did in 2019 and the Mariners in 2017 – they will have a closure in their hands for the next two seasons. . Ensuring a high level of performance from Pagan will be even more crucial for the Twins, as this morning the trade sends them closer and one of the best left-handed comforters in all of San Diego baseball. The 31-year-old Rogers has been a triumph in terms of player development for Minnesota, flourishing from a fairly unlimited prospect of back-of-the-rotation to a romantic late saw that has conquered rivals dating back to the 2018 season. Rogers, whose twin brother Tyler plays for his new opponent in the San Francisco division, added a slider to his 2018 repertoire – making his debut on the pitch at Memorial Day weekend that year. The change in his results was amazing. Having a SEASON of 5.48 at the time, Rogers put in a SEASON 1.34 for the rest of the season and scored 57 hits in 47 appearances. She has never looked for him again. Since making his catastrophic debut on May 31, 2018, Rogers has released a 2.58 ERA (2.54 SIERA) with a huge stop rate of 32.5%, a small walking rate of 4.6% and a rich percentage grounding 48%. He was one of the best relievers in the MLB during this period, gaining 50 rebounds and, in 2021, making his first All-Star team. Dominant like Rogers, however, is not without his own medical concerns. In 2021 the left approached abruptly when he left his appearance on July 26 with discomfort in his left middle finger. It was eventually determined that Rogers had a damaged ligament in his hand. As the Twins are with Paddack, San Diego clearly believes Rogers is healthy and can return to normal. If that’s the case, they could turn customers into one of the game’s most effective reliefs for the 2022 season before Rogers reaches the free dealership out of season. Rooker is the fourth known part of the deal at the moment and gives the Padres an impressive corner pitch selection that they have not yet completed things together at MLB level. Elected No. 35 overall in 2017, the former Mississippi State star crossed the minor leagues, hitting 0.263 / .359 / .516 while demonstrating his raw strength. The Rooker bat will need to take him to the MLB level, however, as he is a first in college, which the Twins tried rather unsuccessfully as a left-handed athlete (-6 Saved defensive runs, -4 Outs Above Average, -9.7 UZR / 150 in 268 career participations). Rooker has a couple of minor side options left and is not necessarily an immediate solution to Padres’s off-field corner. It will give them a choice there, in the first base and in the designated player – someone with light tower power, but also one who has thrown punches at 32.1% of his 234 appearances in the big category (versus just 6.4% gait ). The 6’3 “and 225-pound Rooker gives San Diego a thrilling power but also something like a project, as it is already 27 years old and has not yet proven that it can handle high-class throws. Given its lack of defensive value, it is of the utmost importance. for the Padres to put the finishing touches on the development of the Rooker’s bat. The Twins have been chasing pitching all winter, and although they did not add the name many fans hoped for, they have now acquired Paddack and Sonny Gray and have also signed Chris Archer and Dylan Bundy. This quartet will feature rookie Opening Day Joe Ryan and under-the-radar sophomore Bailey Ober in the Minnesota original starting lineup, but the Twins also have a lot of prospects on the horizon. Jordan Balazovic, Josh Winter, Simeon Woods Richardson, Matt Canterino and Cole Sands are approaching all the major leagues and could make their debut sometime in 2022. As for the Padres, they will face from a position of depth to strengthen the rear end of their bullpen. Paddack has been a regular in the San Diego rotation for the past three seasons, but has been largely pushed out of the box by a series of high-profile commercial acquisitions. The Friars added Yu Darvish, Joe Musgrove, Mike Clevinger and, more recently, Sean Manaea last year and also signed Nick Martinez to a four-year contract this winter. Add new weapons like MacKenzie Gore, Ryan Weathers and Adrian Morejon (who will be back from Tommy John surgery later this season) and it’s easy to see why they felt comfortable moving the Paddack. It’s definitely a risk to sell low in the first phase with its pros, but the Friars add one of the game’s most successful reliefs and they clearly have enough depth of rotation to make such a move. Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal and Kevin Acee and Jeff Sanders of the San Diego Union-Tribune reported last night that the two teams were discussing commercial scenarios involving Paddack and Rogers. ESPN’s Jeff Passan first reported this morning that a Paddack / Rogers trade was taking place. Rosenthal said Pagan was in the deal and The Athletic’s Dennis Lin first mentioned Rooker’s inclusion. Minneapolis Star-Tribune La Velle E. Neal III added that the Twins will receive a PTBNL, and The Athletic’s Dan Hayes wrote on Twitter that Minnesota included some cash in the exchange. Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
