Chris Paddack does no favors to trade value in rough start vs. Cubs

Potential trade candidate Chris Paddack did no favors to his league-wide value during a rough start on Thursday afternoon at Target Field. Paddack allowed 11 hits and six earned runs across five innings as the Twins' bid for a sweep fell short in an 8-1 loss to the Cubs.

Because he's a pending free agent, Paddack — who is making $7.5 million this year — could be a logical trade chip if the Twins wind up in sell mode before the July 31 deadline. It would make sense to try to get some sort of prospect return for him instead of losing him for nothing in the offseason. But his value, which was creeping up at one point, has gone down over the past month.

Earlier this year, Paddack had a very strong two-month stretch that likely caught the eye of plenty of teams around the league. After two rough starts to begin his season, the veteran right-hander went 11 outings (from April 12 through June 7) with a 2.25 ERA. Unfortunately, he was shelled in Houston in his next start and has now allowed 27 earned runs in his last 28.2 innings pitched.

Paddack's ERA fell to 4.95 in this game, which is right in line with the 4.99 mark he posted last year. He's a fairly experienced pitcher with solid stuff and a low walk rate, so contending teams in need of back-end rotation help may still be interested. But the Twins, if they do end up in sell mode, likely won't get much in return for a rental with an ERA near 5.

The Cubs opened the scoring in the second inning on Thursday and put at least one run across in each of the next three frames to take a commanding 6-0 lead. Pete Crow-Armstrong hit a two-run homer in the third and added another homer off of new Twins reliever Anthony Misiewicz in the seventh. Paddack only struck out two batters and gave up plenty of hard contact.

Playing without All-Star Byron Buxton due to a hand contusion, the Twins recorded just four hits as an offense, two of which came from Royce Lewis. Kody Clemens drove in their only run with a solo homer in the fifth. A key moment came in the bottom of the second inning, when Carlos Correa grounded into a double play with two runners on and no outs.

The Twins fell to 45-48 with the loss, but still took the series against one of the best teams in baseball. They've won back-to-back series on this homestand and will look to win another one against the Pirates this weekend. Aces Joe Ryan and Paul Skenes will kick things off on Friday night.

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