Rangers and veterans are good Chris Paddack are close to finalizing a major league contract, reports Shawn McFarland of the Dallas Morning News. The deal is pending finalization of the physical structure. Paddack, a client of the Boras Corporation, elected free agency last week after the Reds designated him for assignment. Texas already has an open spot on the 40-man roster after offering a first baseman Blaine Crim his release to make a deal with the Korea Baseball Organization.
Cincinnati was already Paddack’s second team of the year. He signed a one-year, $4MM contract with the Marlins in free agency but was cut by Miami in May. He quickly signed with the Reds and spent more than a month on their roster before being reassigned.
Paddack, 30, has made 13 appearances this season – nine of them starts. He has totaled 53 innings but has been burned to a career-worst 6.96 ERA, thanks in large part to career-worst strikeouts and walk rates of 15.7% and 7.7%, respectively. That walk rate is still better than the league average, but Paddack entered the season with a career-low 5.2% walk rate.
Paddack had a great rookie season with the Padres back in 2019, throwing 140 2/3 innings with a 3.33 ERA, a 26.9% strikeout rate and a 5.5% walk rate. He never really followed through on that, due to injuries. He has had two Tommy John surgeries and has missed time with an arm strain. Paddack has managed just 494 innings since Opening Day 2020, and has averaged 5.27 in that span as his strike rate has steadily declined.
When Paddack returned from his most recent surgery with the Twins late in the 2023 season, he looked dominant as a reliever. He pitched 8 2/3 innings between the regular season and playoffs and held opponents to three runs (3.12 ERA) with a 14-to-1 K/BB ratio. His fastball, which averaged 92.9 mph this season, sat near 96 mph on average during that run. Paddack seems to prefer to continue working in a replacement role since then, but at times, it’s hard not to wonder if he can make that switch to short relief.
In the meantime, the Rangers will give him another starting job. Texas just lost Jack Leiter ankle surgery, and they still haven’t Jordan Montgomery or Cody Bradford after their UCL surgery. Montgomery’s Tommy John surgery is scheduled for April 2025. He is currently on minor league rehab. Bradford had an internal brace procedure a few months later. He’s throwing but he’s not ready to enter conditioning games. Indoor options like Jose Corniel again David Davalillo they were hit hard in Triple-A.
Paddack would be a quick candidate to break into the rotation, but he’s been sitting as the fifth starter for the better part of a decade now. The Rangers can hope that he or the soon-to-be-returned Montgomery can stabilize things in the short term — Montgomery pitched two complete innings in a Double-A rehab start yesterday — but the president of baseball operations. Chris Young and general manager Ross Fenstermaker also appear to be looking for rotation help in the five weeks leading up to the Aug. trade deadline. 3.
