FORT MYERS, Fla. — Still in the habit of setting lofty goals, Chris Paddack is aiming to make 35 starts this season.
Yet even as he listed a figure reached by only four starting pitchers since 2010, Paddack is self-aware. He purposely establishes a higher bar to keep himself focused, while deliberately making his other goals more general.
A year ago, Paddack aimed to reach 140 innings with 170 strikeouts, numbers that seemed elevated considering he was coming off a second Tommy John surgery and had pitched only 18 innings in 2023 between the minors and majors, including the playoffs.
Paddack completed 88 1/3 innings with 79 strikeouts in 2024, good totals considering his lack of work the previous two seasons. But even so, the right-hander was disappointed to miss the entire second half with right elbow inflammation. He used that disappointment as motivation to participate in an all-encompassing offseason throwing program, which started right after last season ended and incorporated throwing every day.
“I got sick and tired of not meeting my goals,” Paddack said. “If I’m being honest, I got tired of coming up short or not being able to be there for the guys when they need me most. And the end of August, early September, that crushes the mind because I wanna be a part of those big moments. That’s why we work our tail off all season — to be there in those big moments.”
Some days this winter Paddack threw to a close friend. On days he was alone, Paddack threw against a wall.
Sometimes he played catch at 60 feet. Other times, he threw a football.
The one constant was Paddack throwing every single day. He began the program one week after the season ended and never slowed down.
“We call it backyard catch,” Paddack said. “I was moving the shoulder and elbow. I talked to the front office, our training staff. We all agreed this might be something that will benefit Chris Paddack. … We have a long way to go. We have all of spring to stay healthy and the six months of high intensity. But overall, man, I’m excited.”
Chris Paddack throws during 2024 spring training. (Jonah Hinebaugh / Naples Daily News / Imagn Images)
Paddack, 29, is a free agent after the season. Based on how he feels at the start of this camp, Paddack wishes he would have participated in a similar program earlier in his career. After discussing it, Paddack’s Tommy John surgeon, Dr. Keith Meister, Twins head athletic trainer Nick Paparesta and minor-league physical therapist Christian Hintz suggested the pitcher participate in a program that is far more common now than it was 10 years ago.
One reason the trio OK’d it was Paddack’s freshness after being shut down for much of July, August and September with inflammation. He responded well to the program and entered camp having already participated in a number of bullpen sessions and live batting practice against a mix of pro and college hitters at Texas Tech.
“It’s the first offseason he hasn’t gone down to zero and built himself back up,” Twins manager Rocco Baldelli said. “Sometimes, that could be a really important decision that guys make. Some guys need a mental break from the game and just throwing the ball. This could bring him into camp in a much more ready position than he has ever been before. He still has a ton of talent.”
Twins pitching coach Pete Maki likes Paddack’s ambitious goals. Along with Baldelli, Maki expected a wide range of ups and downs from Paddack in 2024 as he navigated a recovery from elbow surgery in May 2022.
Paddack first returned in September 2023 and flashed electric stuff as a reliever, perhaps pointing to a future career path. But last season, the Twins needed Paddack in their rotation, and the team’s demand for him as a starter only grew after veteran Anthony DeSclafani suffered an injury in the spring.
The Twins leaned heavily on Paddack early in the season, perhaps more than was ideal. His results were mixed as Paddack’s velocity varied from start to start.
Even though there were several rough starts in the bunch, Maki was encouraged by Paddack’s ability to throw strikes and produce big games, like a May 19 start at Cleveland in which he allowed two earned runs in eight innings. Despite finishing the season with a 4.99 ERA, Paddack allowed two or fewer earned runs in 10 of 17 starts. His strikeout rate was similar to his career mark.
“(Paddack) had some great outings last year,” Maki said. “He had a couple of blow-up outings, which kind of affected some of those overall numbers. He continued to limit free passes at a special rate (2.1 walks per nine innings). And he showed periods of time where he was executing in two-strike counts, which was his goal going into spring last year and it will be another goal this year. He has that touch to be able to leave the zone and be in pressure zones with two strikes. That’s a continued area of focus for him.”
Paddack believes participation in his offseason program will help him remain focused on pitching every fifth day and not as much on managing his health.
The veteran has never made more than 26 starts in a major-league season. But he hopes to push past that mark this season by simplifying his approach to just making each start. It’s why he settled on 35, a number reached only by St. Louis’ Miles Mikolas (2023) and Chris Carpenter (2010), Milwaukee’s Jhoulys Chacin (2018) and Boston’s David Price (2016) in the past 15 seasons.
“It’s a long season,” Paddack said. “But if you simplify it to 35 days, it’s not a lot of time. It’s a little over a month that we’re on that mound, doing what we love, and performing at the highest level, and leaving it all out there. Seven months versus 35 days, that sounds a lot better for you to stay mentally focused and stay locked in. … I don’t want to have all these end goals and come up short — and I beat myself up. I want to simplify. I want to be a Pablo (López). I want to get 35 starts. I want to get to 200 innings. I know I can do it. It’s just that the name of the game is staying healthy.”
(Top photo: Luke Hales / Getty Images)
