Could this Twins pitcher return in September?

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There’s no such thing as a contending team that thinks it has enough bullpen depth -- and if the past week is any indication, the Twins could absolutely use help on that front. Meltdowns by the back end of the bullpen led to tough losses against the Rangers last Saturday and, more recently, against the Guardians in Wednesday’s series finale.

Could there be help coming from within?

Chris Paddack sure hopes so. The beaming right-hander was back in the Target Field clubhouse on Tuesday, having left the Twins’ complex in Fort Myers, Fla., for a few days to get out of the path of Hurricane Idalia. There, he’s been largely out of sight and out of mind as he recovered from his second Tommy John surgery -- and that’s the way he likes it.

“That's what's been kind of fun about this whole thing, is there's a lot of people that have forgotten about me,” Paddack said. “I make that stuff personal. I have. That's just who I am. That's what I enjoy. I'm about to show the world here in four weeks what Chris Paddack's been doing for the past 15 months.”

Paddack will continue his recovery this week with a session of live batting practice in St. Paul, and he then hopes to progress to a formal rehab assignment on Sept. 6, initially with Single-A Fort Myers. He estimates that he could be ready to pitch by roughly Sept. 22, if there’s a role available with the Twins -- and manager Rocco Baldelli indicated there certainly could be.

“I think there are scenarios where he's active and pitching for us,” Baldelli said. “We have to still meet some goals, and we're not going to put the future of Paddie on the line in any way if that was a question. But right now, that's not really a question, because he does seem like he's doing very, very well.”

Now 15 months removed from the Tommy John surgery he underwent last May, Paddack won’t be building up to a full starter’s role -- any possible return in 2023 would involve pitching in shorter stints out of the bullpen.

It helps that the Twins have already given Paddack security with the three-year contract extension he signed during the offseason. There’s no pressure to perform as a starter with free agency in mind. He can free his mind to help the Twins win.

“These guys have earned their jobs this year,” Paddack said. “I’m not coming to step on anyone’s toes. Our pitching has been outstanding. … My job is to come and help this team win. These five or six guys we’ve had in the rotation, they’ve earned every spot, every job, all season long. I’m not coming here to step on their toes. They’ve earned it.”

Paddack isn’t the only one who could factor in as a wild card down the stretch. There’s already talk of Louie Varland making an impact as a reliever in shorter stints. Brock Stewart (right elbow soreness) has maintained a Sept. 10 target to return to the Majors as he builds up bullpens, and Jorge Alcala (right radial stress fracture) is throwing live against hitters. None of them are exactly a sure thing -- but even one or two could be a boost.

And as for if a rehabbed Paddack’s stuff could play? He didn’t want to divulge too much, but he feels more mature and polished than he did in his first recovery from Tommy John and was clearly thrilled about how his pitches look.

“I'll confirm with [the Twins] what I can tell y'all and can't tell you and maybe circle back on where my velocity is at and what my role is going to be," Paddack said. "But I'll tell you this: We're in a really good spot.”