Paddack (right forearm strain) eyes October return

MINNEAPOLIS -- It was a happy Chris Paddack who played catch from 60 feet on Wednesday at Target Field, trying to get back to the mound after MRIs cleared him from the right forearm strain that has sidelined him since mid-July.

But he’s fairly sure he won’t be back for what remains of this regular season.

Though it’s far too early to make any determinations regarding timeline, Paddack doesn’t feel it’s realistic for him to return before the end of September as the Twins aim to chase down the Royals and Guardians in the American League Central. If he does feel he’s progressing well, he thinks it’s far more realistic to push for a potential bullpen role in the postseason.

“I think they respect me enough and know that I'm going to be honest and I'm not going to put myself or this team in harm's way,” Paddack said. “I've got to do what's best for me but also what's best for this team and go from there. The next 30 days, obviously, very crucial. Every day's going to matter.”

Paddack would obviously like to be out there on the mound with the team, and he’d been keeping an eye on the series finale between the Royals and Guardians on the televisions in the Twins’ clubhouse on Wednesday, noting how fun it was going to be for the three teams embroiled in the AL Central chase down the stretch.

But knowing that he has a year remaining on his contract with the Twins and his injury history, Paddack is understandably cautious, especially as part of his first full season since returning from his second career Tommy John surgery.

“It's just, I hadn’t picked up a baseball in 55 days,” Paddack said. “That's more time than I take off in the offseason, unfortunately.”

Both the Minnesota rotation and bullpen are quite depleted, and either could use Paddack despite his 4.99 ERA in 17 appearances this season before this extended absence. But given the timelines involved, he acknowledges the bullpen is almost certainly his destination -- as much as he’s thought about what it would be like to make a playoff start in front of a full crowd.

One thing that does help Paddack on the mental side is that this is essentially the exact position he was in last September, as he returned from that second Tommy John surgery. Last season, he ramped up with an eye toward the playoffs and made a late decision to complete that push back to the roster -- at which point he returned for a few late-September tune-ups ahead of the playoffs.

So, there’s precedent for him in this, especially since he impressed with 3 2/3 scoreless innings of relief last postseason, with six strikeouts, just one hit and no walks across two appearances.

“I think what's crucial about the position that I'm currently in and with the team is that they've seen me come out of that bullpen,” Paddack said. “They know I can do it, and I know I can do it. I think that's going to help make some decisions toward the end of the season.”

Paddack said that he’ll continue to ramp up, then perhaps have a meeting in roughly three weeks with the staff and doctors to come to that decision -- though he has plenty of boxes to check before then.

“In a perfect world, I could tell you on the record that Oct. 1, I'm going to be back,” Paddack said. “But something happens tomorrow, that all goes to wash. So I have no say in when I'm going to come back. I have goals and dreams in my head, visions in my head of what that looks like, but I've got to be smart and take it one day at a time.”

There’s certainly a need in the bullpen. Given the recent DFAs of both Steven Okert and Trevor Richards, the Twins are hoping some combination of Josh Winder, Scott Blewett, Louie Varland, Kody Funderburk and Justin Topa could emerge to fill those gaps -- but there are no guarantees anywhere within that group, with Varland perhaps presenting the surest bet.

Eventually, Paddack hopes to push back into that mix.

“It’s way too early for us to have any specific plan right now for Paddy,” manager Rocco Baldelli said. “We just want to take it step by step, get him out there and throw. He’s going to have to clear some hurdles and keep progressing well.”