'UPS' no more, Paddack swells Twins' rotation

MINNEAPOLIS -- Earlier in the week, Chris Paddack thought he might have ended up joining the New York Mets. Instead, here is in the white, navy and red of the Twins following a tumultuous week that culminated in his arrival in Minneapolis on Thursday following a last-second trade between the Twins and Padres.

"Looks fairly good on me, I think," Paddack said. "Better than the gold and brown [of San Diego] -- I looked like UPS. We always got those jokes in San Diego, but I'm excited, man. It's a new [jersey] number. I'm still the same guy, but just want a fresh start. Being a younger guy, I learned a lot over the years. But I'm excited for the new journey."

• Twins set Opening Day roster

The Twins wanted to acquire Paddack for their starting rotation as early as 2017, president of baseball operations Derek Falvey said. They felt strongly enough about Paddack's presence that they added the 26-year-old to an already full starting rotation, giving the Twins seven starting pitchers on their 28-man Opening Day roster.

That led to a big adjustment to the Twins’ pitching plans on the eve of the regular season: After prepping for a five-man rotation all spring, they'll carry a six-man rotation to open the season.

Joe Ryan, Sonny Gray, Bailey Ober and Dylan Bundy will pitch the four games in the season-opening series against the Mariners, as planned. Chris Archer will pitch the opener of the two-game set against the Dodgers, with Paddack slotted in after him. Josh Winder, the club's No. 7 prospect in the MLB Pipeline rankings, will be a floater in the bullpen, ready for outings of two to five innings on a somewhat regular schedule.

At least until rosters go back to 26 on May 2, this looks like it will be the Twins' new steady state.

"We've made several key additions, and we're going to need all of them," manager Rocco Baldelli said. "We're going to need all of them to get where we're going to be. Just how the coming months play out, we'll let that kind of sort itself out. But I think we have the right individuals with the right talent to go out there and perform."

Eventually, this logjam could sort itself out through injuries, underperformance or otherwise. But this arrangement makes particular sense for now with the shortened Spring Training ramp-up leaving pitchers behind where they would be in a normal spring.

Gray, for example, opted for the extra day of rest before and after his final start of Spring Training to help with his ramp-up, which is naturally conducive to a smooth transition to a six-man rotation. Archer also reported feeling a bit tired at the end of his only start in Grapefruit League play -- his first start since signing -- and could benefit from the extra day.

Paddack didn't get a chance to develop a regular starter's routine while with the Padres this spring, as his final two appearances of Spring Training came as a "piggyback" starter behind Blake Snell. He's a supporter of the six-day schedule helping them all ramp up, especially as he comes off elbow injuries toward the end of his '21 season.

"Absolutely," Paddack said. "I think this season for me, probably speaking for all the pitchers in this clubhouse, is if you're staying healthy, normally that means you're having a successful year. But just, I mean, I want to be durable this year."