Tigers reveal depressing reason for surprising Chris Paddack trade

Didn't see this one coming.

Emma Lingan

Minnesota Twins v Los Angeles Dodgers / Ronald Martinez/GettyImages

When the Detroit Tigers acquired starting pitcher Chris Paddack from the Minnesota Twins on Monday, it left several fans scratching their heads. Yes, Tigers were expected to be deadline buyers, and you can never have enough arms; but starting pitching wasn't widely believed to be at the top of their priority list.

Unfortunately, a late afternoon news dump from the team revealed the reason for the Tigers' urgency in getting the trade done with their American League Central division rivals. As part of a handful of updates from manager A.J. Hinch's pregame media availability, Chris McCosky of The Detroit News was among those to report that right-hander Reese Olson had been placed on the 60-day injured list and would be out for the season with a shoulder strain.

While Olson had been placed on the injured list with finger inflammation in mid-May, there had been no previous reports that he was dealing with a shoulder injury as well. He had most recently started for the Tigers against the Toronto Blue Jays on Thursday and lasted 5 2/3 innings.

Additionally, the Tigers announced that they have placed outfielder Parker Meadows on the 10-day IL with a quad strain and that Andy Ibáñez and Ryan Kreidler had been recalled from Triple-A Toledo to take the active roster spots of Olson and Meadows.

Tigers drop Reese Olson bombshell, reveal Parker Meadows is also on IL

According to Cody Stavenhagen of The Athletic, Olson first felt discomfort on Saturday during a bullpen session. President of baseball operations Scott Harris said that Olson had more tests scheduled for Tuesday but that his initial MRI "revealed enough to rule him out for the regular season."

According to Evan Petzold of the Detroit Free Press, the Tigers are "keeping the door open" for Olson to return in the postseason. For now, though, he joins a lengthy list of Tigers pitchers that includes Alex Cobb, Jackson Jobe, Ty Madden, Jose Urquidy and Sawyer Gipson-Long.

The news of Olson's injury is a major blow to the Tigers' rotation, shedding some light on the team's haste in trading for Paddack as a reinforcement ahead of Thursday's deadline. Paddack, who will take Olson's spot on the 40-man roster, will make his Tigers debut Wednesday against the Arizona Diamondbacks.

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Emma Lingan

Emma Lingan is an MLB Staff Writer for FanSided primarily covering the Pittsburgh Pirates. She has been covering baseball for more than a decade dating back to her time as a student at Wake Forest University, and she has won two gold medals as a member of the U.S. National Team delegation (2016 Pan-American Championships & 2017 World Baseball Classic). A native of Washington, D.C. and current resident of Nashville, Tenn., she is also entering her seventh season as a credentialed NHL media member and currently covers the NHL’s Nashville Predators for The Hockey News. When she's not watching hockey, baseball or football, she enjoys podcasting, reading, going to the gym, consuming large amounts of coffee and taking long walks with her dog, Minkah. You can follow her @Emma_lingan on Twitter and Instagram.