Tigers Acquiring Chris Paddack Won't Move Needle for Postseason Push

The addition of Chris Paddack isn't going to be moving the needle for the Detroit Tigers

Jul 23, 2025; Los Angeles, California, USA; Minnesota Twins starting pitcher Chris Paddack (20) walks back to the dugout after pitching sixth inning against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Dodger Stadium. | Kiyoshi Mio-Imagn Images

The Detroit Tigers have been struggling quite a bit since the All-Star break, and with the trade deadline coming up, the team seemingly needs to make some improvements.

It has been a rough stretch for the Tigers coming out of the break. They no longer have the best record in the American League, and all of a sudden, a lot of teams are catching up.

Detroit has had to deal with its fair share of injuries this year, but for the most part, they have been able to overcome them.

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Now, with the trade deadline quickly approaching, the Tigers have seemingly found some urgency to make improvements. Recently, Detroit completed a trade with the Minnesota Twins of veteran starter Chris Paddack and relief pitcher Randy Dobnak.

While Detroit is fortunate to have the likely American League Cy Young award-winning pitcher at the top of the rotation in Tarik Skubal, the rest of the unit has some question marks.

Injuries have started to take their toll on the unit, with Reese Olson recently heading to the injured list, joining Jackson Jobe and Alex Cobb. Jobe will be out for the rest of the campaign, and Cobb has yet to pitch for the Tigers since signing this offseason.

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The addition of Paddack will immediately give Detroit at least a healthy arm in the rotation for the time being. So far this season, he has totaled a 3-9 record and 4.95 ERA.

Those numbers aren’t great, and the veteran right-hander isn’t going to be moving the needle for the Tigers.

Considering the struggles of the team of late, this is a rather uninspiring move by the organization if they aren’t going to be adding another starter.

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With a career ERA of 4.49, Paddack is a back-end of the rotation pitcher and isn’t going to be helping Detroit win games in October.

While adding the right-hander will at least give them a healthy arm for the time being, this is a team that, all of a sudden, feels like it can use another front-end starter to pair with Skubal.

Unfortunately, Jack Flaherty hasn’t been the same pitcher he was in 2024 with the Tigers, and not having a capable second option behind Skubal doomed Detroit in the playoffs last year.

Hopefully, the addition of Paddack isn’t the only move that the Tigers make before the trade deadline. While he does provide depth, he isn’t going to be moving the needle for the franchise.

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