Minor League Baseball

Minnesota Twins Receive Promising Catching Prospect in Trade With Detroit Tigers

In order to pry starting pitcher Chris Paddack away from the Minnesota Twins prior to the trade deadline, the Detroit Tigers had to part ways with 19-year-old catcher Enrique Jimenez.
Sam Connon|
Detroit, MI, USA; Minnesota Twins hat and glove in the dugout during the game against the Detroit Tigers at Comerica Park.
Detroit, MI, USA; Minnesota Twins hat and glove in the dugout during the game against the Detroit Tigers at Comerica Park. | Rick Osentoski-Imagn Images

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Detroit TigersMinnesota Twins

The Minnesota Twins made their first big move of trade season Monday afternoon, sending starting pitcher Chris Paddack and swingman Randy Dobnak to the Detroit Tigers.

In order to complete the divisional swap, the Tigers agreed to send back 19-year-old catcher Enrique Jimenez, per FanSided's Robert Murray. The switch-hitting Venezuelan teenager was ranked as the No. 14 prospect in Detroit's farm system.

Minnesota's top-two catching prospects, Ricardo Olivar and Khadim Diaw, were ranked No. 17 and No. 19 in their organization.

Jimenez made his professional debut in the Dominican Summer League in 2023, then spent 2024 and 2025 in the Florida Coast League. Through 137 career games, Jimenez is batting .255 with 10 home runs, 30 doubles, six triples, 12 stolen bases, 68 RBIs, 73 runs, 75 walks and a .776 OPS.

MLB Pipeline has Jimenez's hit and power tools pegged at 45, his arm and field tools at 50 and his run tool at 40.

The Twins have leaned on Christian Vázquez and Ryan Jeffers at catcher this season. The former is set to hit free agency in November, while Jeffers' contract runs out at the end of next season.

Had Paddack not fallen off over the past few weeks, perhaps the Twins could have gotten more than Jimenez in return. The 29-year-old pending free agent was 2-4 with a 2.25 ERA and 0.953 WHIP between April 12 and June 7, but 1-4 with an 8.55 ERA and 1.723 WHIP between June 12 and July 18.

On the whole this season, Paddack is 3-9 with a 4.95 ERA, 1.279 WHIP, 6.7 strikeouts per nine innings and a 0.9 WAR. He has stayed healthy so far in 2025 after missing most of 2022 and 2023 recovering from Tommy John surgery and losing the end of 2024 with a forearm strain.

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Sam Connon
SAM CONNON

Sam Connon is a staff writer for “Minor League Baseball on SI’’ and other "On SI'' baseball sites. He previously covered UCLA Athletics for “UCLA on SI’’ and won awards from the College Media Association and Society of Professional Journalists. Connon also wrote for “New England Patriots on SI’’ and was on the Patriots and Boston Red Sox beats at Prime Time Sports Talk. Follow Sam on Twitter @SamConnon.

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