Former Twins right-hander Chris Paddack is headed for yet another stop, and this one could come with a contender.
According to Shawn McFarland of the Dallas Morning News, the Texas Rangers are close to signing Paddack to a major-league contract, which would make them his third team of the year. For a pitcher who has bounced all over the map in 2025, the move is another chance to steady a season that has gone sideways more than once.
Paddack’s run with the Twins never really matched the expectations that followed him to Minnesota in 2022. He arrived in the deal that sent Taylor Rogers and Brent Rooker to the San Diego Padres, but his time there was interrupted almost immediately.
He made only five starts in 2022 before undergoing Tommy John Surgery, then later worked out of the bullpen in late 2023. In 2024, a forearm strain limited him to 17 starts, and he finished with a 4.99 ERA over 88 1/3 innings.
The results have only gotten rougher since. Paddack opened the 2025 season with some effectiveness, but the numbers slid hard as the year went on.
Before the Detroit Tigers traded for him in late July, he had a 4.95 ERA in 111 innings last season. Detroit acquired him and righty Randy Dobnak for catching prospect Enrique Jimenez, but Paddack didn’t find much relief there either.
He posted a 6.32 ERA across 47 innings for the Tigers, was moved to a bullpen role near the end of the season, and did not make Detroit’s postseason roster.
His next stop came in the offseason, when the Miami Marlins signed him to a one-year, $4 million deal. That stint was short-lived too.
After 30 2/3 innings and a 7.63 ERA, Miami designated him for assignment. He was released on May 10, and three days later the Cincinnati Reds gave him another shot.
That one lasted about five weeks. Cincinnati cut him loose on June 22, and he was released two days later after putting up a 6.04 ERA in 22 1/3 innings.
Texas is turning to Paddack because it needs arms. Kennedi Landry of MLB.com reported that right-hander Jack Leiter recently underwent arthroscopic surgery to remove a loose body in his right ankle region, leaving the Rangers shorthanded.
They’re also still waiting on Jordan Montgomery and Cody Bradford to work all the way back from UCL surgeries. Montgomery is on a minor-league rehab assignment, while Bradford is throwing but has not started a rehab assignment yet.
That opens the door for Paddack to get starting chances with Texas, at least for now. And with the Rangers sitting at 42-42 but somehow in first place in the AL West, his performance could end up carrying more weight than anyone would have expected a few months ago.
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