*Photo from SoDo Mojo*
With holes in the starting rotation and Michael Wacha already under contract, the Boston Red Sox went for a slightly risky addition to the rotation. The Red Sox and LHP James Paxton have agreed to a one year, $10 million deal, according to Alex Speier of the Boston Globe. The deal has a two year club option for 2023 and 2024, which could max the money at $35 million. The deal has been confirmed by the Red Sox.
Paxton will be unable to impact the Red Sox right away. He is currently recovering from Tommy John surgery, that he needed to undergo after pitching just 1 1/3 innings at the start of last season. He is expected to be ready around midseason, when pitching needs are the most paramount for any team in baseball.
Red Sox chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom said of Paxton that "We've seen before injuries really started to impact his career, he was one of the better left-handed pitchers in the American League. And, if he gets back to that, he could provide a huge boost for us in the second half. And we also have the ability, if all goes well coming here, to control him for a couple years after that. That was a big part of this deal for us, adding someone who might be able to help us down the stretch this coming year but then also be a big part of what we're doing in the years ahead."
The last fully healthy season of Paxton's career came in a New York Yankees uniform in 2019. He had a 15-6 record with a 3.82 ERA and 1.28 WHIP, striking out 186 hitters while throwing 150 2/3 innings, making 29 starts for the Pinstripes. In 2020, he made just 5 starts as that season was marred by injury. He didn't even make it through two whole innings in 2021 before needing Tommy John surgery.
Across 9 seasons, the man known as Big Maple has a 57-33 record with a 3.59 ERA and 1.21 WHIP, tossing 754 2/3 innings, making 137 starts split between the Yankees and Seattle Mariners. In 3 career playoff starts, Paxton has a 1-0 record, allowing 5 earned runs in 13 innings pitched, all coming in the 2019 playoffs with the Yankees.
The best stretch of Paxton's career came from the 2016 to 2018 seasons. In 101 starts made in that time frame, he had a 3.60 ERA and 1.19 WHIP while striking out 667 hitters over 568 innings pitched. He also threw a no hitter against the Toronto Blue Jays in 2018 in his home country of Canada. That offseason, he was traded to the Yankees.
Whenever Paxton does get healthy, he'll join a Boston rotation that features Chris Sale, Nathan Eovaldi, Nick Pivetta, and the newly signed Wacha, with young pitchers Tanner Houck and Garrett Whitlock also looking for a rotation spot.
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