Minnesota Twins Sign Starter To 3-Year Extension

His first season with the Minnesota Twins ended in Tommy John surgery after just five starts, but the team has seen enough to sign promising right-hander Chris Paddack to a three-year extension. 

I love the decision bring Chris Paddack back on a 3-year deal.

There’s some risk, but $12.5 million for a solid starter with upside, could be a bargain when he’s healthy again#MNTwins

— Twins Talk (@LetsTalk_Twins) January 14, 2023

The 3-year deal is worth $12.5M for Paddack, with a possible extra $2.5M in player bonuses. The 27-year-old will miss a huge chunk of the 2023 season recovering from his second Tommy John procedure. 

In Paddack's five outings for the Twins in 2022, he posted a 4.05 ERA with a 1.21 WHIP and a tremendous 20:2 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 22.1 innings. He did not yield a single home run. 

As noted by Dan Hayes in The Athletic, the Twins had long coveted Paddack before acquiring him in the April 2022 trade for Taylor Rogers from the San Diego Padres. 

The right-hander posted a superb rookie season for the Friars in 2019, with a 3.33 ERA, a 0.98 WHIP, and 10.8 K/9, with a 153:31 strikeout-to-walk ratio. He struggled a bit in the following two seasons, however, but still kept walks to a minimum, and overall in his four years in the bigs, has a 4.20 ERA and 1.13 WHIP with a 9.0 to 1.8 strikeout-to-walk ratio.

Photo: Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports