The Detroit Tigers had an objective to bolster their pitching staff at the MLB trade deadline. They brought in several relievers and two starters, but their president of baseball operations, Scott Harris, questionably opted for marginal upgrades rather than a flashy move. Landing Chris Paddack from the Minnesota Twins was the closest the American League Central leaders got to making a marquee transaction, which has already backfired.
Detroit thought it was capitalizing on Minnesota's fire sale by acquiring Paddack (and veteran right-hander Randy Dobnak). However, the way-too-early results foreshadow ageless wonder Charlie Morton being the more positively impactful addition, which is a concerning development for the Tigers' postseason hopes. Harris took a disappointingly conservative "all-in" approach and is already reaping what he sowed.
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Chris Paddack trade is aging poorly for Scott Harris, Tigers at alarmingly fast rate
Paddack's Tigers debut versus the Arizona Diamondbacks was among the best performances we've seen from him in 2025. He struck out five batters and allowed only one earned run across six innings of work en route to a 7-2 Detroit victory. The quality outing marked his fifth-highest game score of the season (67). Alas, that all came crashing down the next time the 29-year-old took the mound.
One week after hugging his now-former Twins teammates inside their dugout, Paddack faced them as a member of the Tigers. He fared much differently in Detroit's loss to the club that used to employ him. It's almost as if Minnesota knew what was coming before the hurler tossed the ball, because they probably did.
Minnesota rocked Paddack for six hits and four earned runs in only four frames and 57 pitches. They showed great discipline and made him pay for attacking the zone, not striking out once while generating contact and power. Slugger Trevor Larnach homered off the ex-Twin, and rookie second baseman/designated hitter Luke Keaschall crushed four-bagger No. 1 of his career.
LUKE!!!!
— Minnesota Twins (@Twins) August 5, 2025
First Major League home run! 🚀 pic.twitter.com/8UoI0G1FIi
We shouldn't put too much stock into either of Paddack's first two appearances in Tigers threads and probably expect a happy median moving forward. Nonetheless, that's also part of the problem. His inconsistency could haunt Detroit as the stakes rise from now through October.
Barring unforeseen circumstances, the Tigers will claim their first AL Central title since 2014. They have a comfortable lead on the Twins and Co., but the deal for Paddack was made with the World Series in mind. The margin for error is slim, and Detroit can't afford bumps in the road like the one its new contributor already experienced.