The Minnesota Twins have completed an Opening Day trade to bring in a starting pitcher.
The Twins are acquiring San Diego Padres starting pitcher Chris Paddack. In three seasons with the Padres, Paddack put up a 20-19 record, starting 60 games and pitching 308 innings. He is a career 1.9 WAR pitcher.
In return, the Twins are giving up former All-Star pitcher Taylor Rogers along with former prospect Brent Rooker. Rogers, the Twins' back of the bullpen arm for the past three seasons, racked up 50 saves in his time with the team while appearing in 319 games.
Rooker was slated to compete in a tight fourth-outfielder race this spring. The Twins' 2017 first round pick (#35) played in 58 games in 2021, slashing .201/.291/.397 with 9 home runs and 16 RBIs.
The Twins also receive Padres' relief pitcher Emilio Pagán in the deal. The 30-year old pitcher has played for four MLB teams in his five year career. He was a middle of the bullpen pitcher for the Padres for the past two season, but closed for the Tampa Bay Rays in 2019, amassing 20 saves.
FIRST REACTION: Mike Max joined Vineeta Sawkar to discuss the trade. He was skeptical of the trade.
"That's a big piece to part with. He is reliable, he is good. This guy is going to have to give them a lot of good innings. He was .500 last year with a 5 ERA, something like that. That's certainly not overwhelming. But it speaks to how much they felt they needed someone in the rotation."
The Twins open the season Friday afternoon at Target Field against the Seattle Mariners.