Reusse: Chris Paddack has 12.5 million reasons perhaps to show the Twins a little more gratitude

There are microphones, cellphones and cameras pointed at the humans in athletics with considerable frequency. They are often trapped into saying what is required, and at other times, they offer something that would have been better unsaid.

As members of the sports media, we very much prefer the second of those choices. These were examples of both in the aftermath of the Twins’ astounding trade activity that started Monday and lasted right up to the 5 p.m. deadline Thursday:

• Rocco Baldelli, the Twins manager, was at Cleveland’s Progressive Field on Friday, assessing the carnage left from his team’s historic dismemberment of its roster.

“Let me be clear: This is not just take five steps back and just watch the young guys play, and whatever happens, happens,” he said. “That is not what’s going on here. The mentality is to go out there and win every day.”

I was not there, so thus can’t report the level of difficulty for reporters as they attempted to fight off their smirks. You had to say it, Rocco, but you do know better.

• Chris Paddack, a starting pitcher, was the first Twins big-leaguer traded Monday. He went for Enrique Jimenez, a 19-year-old catcher in rookie ball — with the Tigers also required to take Randy Dobnak and whatever was left dollar-wise of the five-year, $9.25 million contract the Twins gave him in March 2021.

Paddack made his Tigers debut Wednesday, cruised through six innings, giving up one run to beat Arizona. In the wake of that, he said to Detroit reporters:

“Everybody has been awesome so far. These facilities here, all the coaching staff, nutritionists, the kitchen — it’s amazing what they have compared to what we had over at the Twins.”

He made a few more remarks about how much better the needs of players were fulfilled by the Tigers. This was probably a shot at his previous team that Paddack could have passed on, considering this:

The Twins traded for Paddack from the Padres before the 2022 season. The deal was Paddack and reliever Emilio Pagán for outfielder Brent Rooker and reliever Taylor Rogers.

Paddack made five starts for the Twins in ‘22, then he blew out his elbow again and required a second Tommy John surgery. He was headed for what basically would be another season of rehab in 2023.

Knowing this, the Twins gave him a three-year, $12.525 million contract in January 2023: $2.5 million for the rehab season, $2.525 million in 2024 and $7.5 million for this season. And now, he can be a six-year free agent, having compiled a large share of that time being injured in San Diego in 2020, and injured here in 2022 and ’23, and half of ’24.

What the Twins saw in him was finally being realized in 2025, and now they traded him to a team that might be around for a while in October. And two days in, he was declaring how much better players are treated by the Tigers than is the case in Minnesota.

And now he will have a start this week at comfy Comerica against many strangers wearing Twins uniforms.

• • •

Here is my hope for the Twins in spring training 2026:

More teams are throwing caution aside and giving opportunities to inexperienced but extra-talented players to break into the regular lineups. And they aren’t panicking if it takes these hitters a while to catch up to big-league pitching.

In Boston, the Red Sox were playing mediocre baseball with a bored fan base. Then, they called up No. 1 prospect Roman Anthony on June 9. He’s 21, a lefthanded hitter, and it took a few games for him to get started. But then he started hitting, and he’s already a folk hero in Fenway.

The Twins have two of these players to look at seriously next spring: outfielder Walker Jenkins, their first-rounder (No. 5) in 2023, and shortstop Kaelen Culpepper, their first-rounder (No. 21) in 2024. They are together right now at Class AA Wichita, playing well, and might be possibilities for the St. Paul Saints late this season.

Jenkins will be 21 and Culpepper 23 next spring. They both have power, and Culpepper can steal bases.

The Twins were desperate for a “phenom,” even before all the trades. They had a roster of position players with one guy under 27 for most of the now-lost season. What better time to show up in February in Fort Myers, Fla., and let the team’s remaining followers know: