Toledo – The St. Paul Saints were settling into their hotel rooms when the news came down that one of them had been traded. It’s not uncommon news, even for Triple-A teams, this time of year, when one or more of them is on the move.
It came as a surprise when they were told that Randy Dobnak was being traded, along with Chris Paddack, to the Detroit Tigers. Dobnak has been the face of the Saints franchise since they became the Twins’ Triple-A affiliate in 2021, pitching in at least four games each year and setting every pitching record.
Dobnak was unwinding at the Saints hotel before going out to dinner with his teammates. Then his phone started to ring with a call coming in from Twins general manager, Jeremy Zoll.
“Normally, when JZ calls… it’s been, ‘Hey, we’re DFAing you. We’re optioning you. We’re outrighting you, etc.’” Dobnak explained over a phone interview on Tuesday. “So like, ‘Oh shit, am I getting released right now?’
“He said I was being traded to the Tigers with Paddack, and I was going, ‘Wow. That was probably the last thing I expected to hear.”
One upside for Dobnak about this trade? He didn’t have to travel too far to join his new team. It was just a walk across the field to his new clubhouse on Tuesday.
“At least we’re already in Toledo,” he said. “It’s an easier transition. I already know some guys on the team, so that will help me kind of get my feet going.”
But as the trade was a done deal, his now-former Saints teammates who had dinner plans with him on Monday thought they were in an awkward spot. They asked if he would still come with them, and Dobnak still tagged along after making some necessary phone calls to his family after the trade.
Dobnak joined Anthony Prato, Darren McCaughan, Patrick Winkel, and Ryan Fitzgerald at the restaurant and was seated next to a table that hosted Carson McCusker, Edouard Julien, and Aaron Sabato. Despite the changes that were hanging over Dobnak after the Twins traded him, he was able to enjoy one last dinner with the group as if it were any other night on the road during the season.
“I went and got coffee with D-Mac and Prato this morning,” he said. “I think Prato is a little sad because we played a lot of cards together.”
Dobnak will have an easier time adjusting to the Toledo Mud Hens clubhouse compared to most others he could have been traded to across the league. Former Saints pitching coach Virgil Vasquez has the job with the Mud Hens, and former teammates in the Twins system, Akil Baddo, Jordan Balazovic, and fellow 2019 Twins rookie Devin Smeltzer are also there.
“It’s been a pretty interesting 24 hours,” said Dobnak. “Lots of logistics to wrap my head around everything. A lot of emotion; happiness, sad, but probably more excited than anything to get a fresh start and get throwing again.
“Just having familiar faces around here that I know outside of just facing these guys over the years definitely helps.”
Dobnak has not had the best year on the mound, and he’d be the first to tell you that. He pitched to a 7.12 ERA in 60 ⅔ innings with the Saints, allowing 35 walks, 11 home runs, and striking out 42 hitters. He hadn’t pitched in the majors since Minnesota’s third game of the season in St. Louis, but that outing showed what Dobnak is still capable of on the mound.
In his last start in the Twins uniform, Dobnak went 5 ⅓ innings of one-run baseball, allowing only two walks and two hits, with the one run coming off a solo shot from Nolan Gorman. If Dobnak has a few starts with Toledo that replicate his first one of the year, there’s no question he’ll find himself back in the majors with Detroit before the year is over.
But before he toes the mound for his new club, Dobnak shared some of his favorite memories that he’s had with the Twins and Saints over the last six years since his meteoric rise through the system in 2019.
“I just kind of shot through the system, and especially when I made my debut,” he said. “Got the playoff start, obviously didn’t go as well as planned. But just that whole year was a blur.
“2019 in general, me and my wife were like, ‘Yeah, what happened that year?’ And then getting to experience playing during COVID was a whole new experience in itself, and then signing the extension in ‘21, just going out there and competing every day is something that’ll keep near to my heart.”
Those first three seasons created many memorable moments for Dobnak and his wife, Ariel. However, as he battled through bizarre finger injuries in 2021 and 2022, he became well-acquainted with the Saints and their culture.
“It means a lot. I mean, we’ve been with the org for so long,” he said. “We’ve done a lot of charity work outside the field, and just like every day interactions with Saints fans, Twins fans, and even Cedar Rapids fans. Fans of teams I’ve played with throughout the years. I’ve always tried to make time to give back to them to kind of give back to them.”
From his teammates, coaches, and the countless employees, including grounds crew, ushers, ushertainers such as Siego Matsabushi, and front office staff. Everyone made Dobnak, Ariel, and their daughter River feel right at home.
“Overall, to play for the Saints for these four years, five years, whatever it was, it was really special,” he said. “The fans are awesome, staff was awesome, I’ve been with Toby (Gardenhire) pretty much my whole career as well. He was my manager in 2018, part of 19, and then obviously 21 since.
“Created a bond with him and obviously Matt Tramp as well, the clubby (clubhouse manager). Just staff in general, the ushers, everybody in St. Paul, the grounds crew, it means a lot to me. I spent a lot of my time there, and I’ll try to get back as much as I can, my family and I.
“We have River, you know, she’s kind of too young to understand everything, but once she’s older, she’ll have an appreciation of the picture we’ve got of her on the field growing up. Helping out the grounds crew when she gets a chance, going in the weight room or training room, picking up stuff. It’s definitely been a journey, that’s for sure.”
Dobnak appreciates that the Saints have somewhat joked about their serious intentions for a Randy Dobnak Day during their last homestand of the season, from September 9 to 15. As the record holder of numerous Saints pitching records since they became an affiliate, they plan to honor his tenure as the longest-serving Saint and possibly retire his No. 23.
While he won’t be able to give a speech to the Saints fans as he would have if he stayed in for the remainder of the season, he shared a bit of what he might have said in that speech over the phone interview.
“Honestly, just thank you for the support over the years to Saints fans and Twins fans alike,” he said. “Like I said, the good outweighed the negative overall. Any interactions I had with fans in real life were always a positive one.
“Everyone was always rooting for, and that’s something I’ll always remember. Obviously, I wish it was different, like I said, but I’m sure I’ll be back at some point. Whether it’s against the Twins or against the Saints. To get that experience, to have my last day, almost.”
Now, Dobnak will focus on his next outing, which will come on Sunday in the Mud Hens series finale against the Saints. It’ll be weird for him seeing so many former teammates on the other side of the mound, but he’s itching to face off against them and see what happens.
“A fresh start might do me wonders,” he said. “We’ll see what happens. I’m excited to face the guys on Sunday too; that’ll definitely be interesting.”