Drafted by Miami, then traded away, Chris Paddack returns to the Marlins, aiming to reignite his career where it all began.
Chris Paddack thought he’d be a Miami Marlin forever.
Even though that was never a realistic option— one-team players have always been rare and are especially so in the 2020s— it’s hard to blame a 19-year-old for thinking that way.
“You think that’s the team you’re going to ride with until your career is over,” Paddack said. “Very few times does that happen nowadays.”
Not only did it not happen for Paddack, it turned out that Paddack never threw a pitch for the Marlins in his first stint.
About a year after the Marlins drafted him, the team traded Paddack to the San Diego Padres to get Fernando Rodney.
In 2019, Paddack made his big league debut with San Diego, and at first, it looked like he was about to make the trade one the Marlins would regret.
He ended his rookie season with a 9-7 record and 3.33 ERA, with his ERA+ of 126 being 26 points above the league average.
It was supposed to be the beginning of a great career.
Instead, more than six years after that rookie season, it’s been Paddack’s peak so far.
A combination of injuries and poor performance have led to Paddack having a career ERA of 4.64 through seven seasons and three team.
Now, Paddack is looking to resurrect his pro career at the place where it all began.
"It really is a full-circle moment for me," Paddack told reporters at spring training Friday. "I go back to my drive down from Texas. I just was like, 'This is a cool opportunity to be back with the team that gave me that first chance as a young kid.'"
At 30, Paddack isn’t the oldest in Miami’s rotation -- that would be Sandy Alcántara -- but he isn’t far off. Paddack and Alcántara are the only two Marlins starters above the age of 30.
The Marlins rotation is expected to get even younger in 2026.
Miami’s two top overall prospects are both left-handed pitchers in Thomas White and Robby Snelling.
This means that Paddack’s wisdom will be appreciated, but it also means he might not keep his spot in the rotation for long.
Team’s don’t often call up their top pitching prospects with the goal being to start them in the bullpen, so two guys are going to have to be booted from the rotation.
Paddack knows first-hand that this can happen, since the Detroit Tigers took him out of their rotation this past September.
But he’s confident that a new environment, plus one particular rule change, will help him be better in 2026.
Starting this season, the league will implement Automated Balls and Strikes, which means that pitchers will immediately have the power to appeal a call.
Each teams will be able to challenge two calls per game, and Paddack feels this suits the style of pitcher he is.
"I really think it’s gonna help me get some calls that I might have not gotten in years prior, or just making hitters realize I know how to command the baseball top, bottom, in and out," he said. "That might give me some more chases if I do leave the zone on purpose."
Paddack’s career has been a disappointment this far, and things might get better in Miami or they might not.
But for right now, Paddack is happy to be in the place where it all began.
“The fact that I get to put a Marlins jersey on and show the city of Miami why they drafted me is a pretty surreal moment,” he said.
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