Recovering Paddack feeling blessed after contract extension

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Once everything was finally official, Chris Paddack couldn’t help but beam from ear to ear as he gathered everyone for a toast at his ranch in Texas.

There’s uncertainty and stress when any pitcher undergoes Tommy John surgery -- and even more so considering Paddack was recovering from the second such procedure of his career, with free agency looming ever closer on the horizon. But he’s always been a guy who has liked to bet on himself -- and had it been his first Tommy John, he might have risked gambling on a strong return in his contract year.

But he couldn’t turn down the Twins’ offer of a three-year, $12.5 million extension that not only delayed his free agency by a year -- but also finally offered his family full financial security.

“It’s a blessing,” Paddack said. “You put yourself in my situation, it takes a lot of pressure off of me. There’s a lot of weight lifted off of my shoulders. I don’t have to be that hero that has to come back in August or September that potentially could be risking my career [by] coming back early from an injury like this.”

That’s not to say Paddack will take it easy now that he has his new contract. He’s still hoping to rejoin the Twins by August or September and make an impact on this season’s team. But it’s less important for his immediate future that he does so, with two full seasons for him to prove himself before he hits free agency following the 2025 campaign.

He’s trying to spend as much time as he can around the Major League team this spring -- especially since he was cleared to play catch a week before his teammates reported to camp. Because it’s his second Tommy John surgery, he and Dr. Keith Meister built an additional three months of rest into the recovery timeline.

In the big-dollar business of professional sports, it’s often easy to forget that truly life-changing money is never a given for these athletes. That security is even more meaningful for Paddack, whose older brother was his de facto father figure and whose mom underwent brain surgery following an aneurysm, worked 14-hour days as a hair stylist and sold birdhouses and bracelets to pay for his youth travel ball, as detailed in the San Diego Union-Tribune.

Now, Paddack says he can look himself in the mirror and say that he can take care of his family for the rest of his life -- and that weight loomed as large as any after his second Tommy John procedure.

“It was just a long time coming,” Paddack said. “I felt like I got underpaid in the Draft. Got hurt, didn’t know if I was ever going to play again back in 2016, traded. A lot of stuff has happened since '15 on Draft day, and seeing my story play out and me [getting] the three-year deal with the Twins, I’m super excited to be here and part of this organization.”