MINNEAPOLIS \u2014 After the clubhouse learned Monday that Chris Paddack was traded \u2014 a move signaling a larger sell-off by the Twins \u2014 Harrison Bader said goodbye to the pitcher.<\/p>\n
The subject of numerous trade rumors himself, Bader offered encouragement and bid farewell to Paddack, who, along with Randy Dobnak, was traded to the first-place Detroit Tigers for minor-league catcher Enrique Jimenez. The two also shared a laugh, perhaps with the knowledge both will find themselves in a better spot to contend by Thursday\u2019s 5 p.m. CT trade deadline.<\/p>\n
Bader is prepared for the possibility he could \u2014 and likely will \u2014 be traded. Though the outfielder acknowledged his uncertain status, he didn\u2019t seem fazed. Instead, Bader headed out to take batting practice and focus on his daily routine.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s a long way to go, regardless of uniform,\u201d Bader said. \u201cI\u2019m excited for every ounce of opportunity that comes my way, regardless of what uniform that might be in. But overall, we\u2019ve got a job, and I try to focus solely on the things I can control, which involves day-to-day preparation to go out and play baseball. That stuff takes care of itself.\u201d<\/p>\n
One of five remaining free-agents-to-be, Bader didn\u2019t start Monday\u2019s series opener against the Boston Red Sox as rumors swirled about his future.<\/p>\n
With the Band-Aid ripped off, it wouldn\u2019t be a surprise to see Bader, Willi Castro and Danny Coulombe traded before the deadline. Veterans Ty France and Christian V\u00e1zquez are also pending free agents and therefore available.<\/p>\n
But the bigger questions surround whether the Twins would make a painful deal and trade Joe Ryan, Griffin Jax, Jhoan Duran or Brock Stewart.<\/p>\n
Despite Paddack\u2019s trade signaling to everyone in the clubhouse that the Twins are open for business, manager Rocco Baldelli thought his club could handle the emotional news without it becoming a distraction.<\/p>\n
\u201cI haven\u2019t seen the demeanor change in any way,\u201d Baldelli said. \u201cJust because you\u2019re making some deals and maybe trade some established players off the club, it really doesn\u2019t dictate what\u2019s going to happen for the rest of the year. You can\u2019t let it dictate your mental state and how you get ready to play and how ready you are to play. I\u2019m not going to approach it with our club until you see what happens and then you figure it out based on what you see.\u201d<\/p>\n
Minus Paddack, Baldelli and the Twins are left to solve a difficult puzzle for a rotation already short on arms. Along with the injury to David Festa, the Twins suddenly are down two starting pitchers, with open slots listed for games on Tuesday and Wednesday.<\/p>\n
Baldelli said the Twins are in line for a bullpen day Tuesday \u2014 reliever Pierson Ohl will be promoted to take Paddack\u2019s spot, according to a team source. Meanwhile, it\u2019s believed Bailey Ober will rejoin the rotation Wednesday.<\/p>\n
Though he was traded late Monday afternoon, Paddack is listed as Wednesday\u2019s starter for Detroit. Noting how quickly deals come together, Paddack spoke with his agent, Scott Boras, early Monday and suspected a deal might happen soon. But even he was surprised by how quickly the deal was finalized.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s just crazy how fast it can turn around,\u201d Paddack said. \u201cWorld just got twisted upside down, to say the least. It stinks. This business is out of our control sometimes. I was really pulling for us, as a Twin. I was hoping we would make some moves and go get that wild-card spot. I\u2019m excited for this new opportunity with a new team.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Tigers are one of four teams who pursued Paddack, which likely is why they were willing to include Dobnak in the deal, with Detroit taking on the remainder of both pitchers\u2019 salaries, about $4.6 million. In exchange, the Twins received Jimenez, who immediately becomes the best catching prospect in the organization despite being only 19 and playing in Rookie League baseball.<\/p>\n
The Twins believe Jimenez will hit well enough if he develops power. They also trust that he has an above-average arm and supplies good defense. Still, Jimenez is not close to helping the big league club.<\/p>\n
Said one rival scout of Jimenez: \u201cGood player. It\u2019s a real prospect.\u201d<\/p>\n
Previously, the prospect of adding minor leaguers versus major leaguers was only a possibility; now, it\u2019s the Twins\u2019 reality. Baldelli and Bader said they\u2019ll remain focused on the players within the clubhouse.<\/p>\n
Though the moment can be emotional, Bader expressed excitement for Paddack.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019ve got to be realistic,\u201d Bader said. \u201cHe knew that it was a possibility, given his contract status. He\u2019s been honest and realistic with his teammates about it. Paddack\u2019s a good guy, someone I\u2019ve definitely grown fond of as the season has progressed. \u2026 If anything, I\u2019m excited for him, not sad. It\u2019s a great opportunity. This game is very funky, but it really is beautiful in the opportunities it provides you with. He\u2019s certainly got an opportunity, so I\u2019m excited for him.\u201d<\/p>\n
(Photo: Ellen Schmidt \/ Getty Images)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"MINNEAPOLIS \u2014 After the clubhouse learned Monday that Chris Paddack was traded \u2014 a move signaling a larger…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":103105,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[41],"tags":[1287,1266,62,67,132,68],"class_list":{"0":"post-103104","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-mlb","8":"tag-minnesota-twins","9":"tag-mlb","10":"tag-sports","11":"tag-united-states","12":"tag-unitedstates","13":"tag-us"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/114938696655822633","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/103104","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=103104"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/103104\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/103105"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=103104"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=103104"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=103104"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}