Veteran starting pitcher James Paxton, who was shockingly designated for assignment by the Los Angeles Dodgers this week, appears to be heading toward a reunion with the Boston Red Sox.
Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher James Paxton (65) at the mount against the Boston Red Sox during the first inning at Dodger Stadium.
The Boston Red Sox are "in talks" to acquire left-handed pitcher James Paxton from the Los Angeles Dodgers, FanSided's Robert Murray reported Friday morning.
The Dodgers designated Paxton for assignment on Monday, giving them until July 29 to trade, waive or release the veteran southpaw. The Red Sox were immediately pegged as a possible suitor to scoop up Paxton, given their recent history with him, and it appears as if that rumor is about to come to fruition.
Paxton was 8-2 with a 4.43 ERA, 1.455 WHIP, 6.4 strikeouts per nine innings and a 0.2 WAR before the Dodgers let him go earlier this week. His last start came against Boston on July 21, and he allowed three earned runs in 5.0 innings of work en route to a Los Angeles victory.
After posting a 3.29 ERA, 1.395 WHIP and .221 batting average against through June 24, Paxton has an 8.66 ERA, 2.094 WHIP and .329 batting average in his four outings since. His 6.4 strikeouts per nine innings, 4.8 walks per nine innings and 1.33 strikeout-to-walk ratio are all career-worsts.
The 35-year-old inked a one-year, $7 million contract with the Dodgers this past offseason. Paxton was initially set to sign for $11 million, but his physical led Los Angeles' front office to rework most of that money into incentives.
Paxton spent the previous two seasons with the Red Sox, although he missed all of 2022 while recovering from Tommy John surgery. He also made just one start with the Seattle Mariners in 2021 and five with the New York Yankees in 2020.
In 2023, Paxton opened the season 7-3 with a 3.34 ERA and 1.135 WHIP, but he got shelled in his last three starts and missed almost all of September with a knee injury. He finished the year 7-5 with a 4.50 ERA, 1.313 WHIP and 1.1 WAR.
Paxton may never have been an innings-eater, but he was a solid starter for the Mariners and Yankees through his age 30 season. From 2013 to 2019, Paxton went 56-32 with a 3.50 ERA, 1.206 WHIP, 9.9 strikeouts per nine innings and a 13.0 WAR, averaging 19 starts a season.
The Red Sox will be without Lucas Giolito and Garrett Whitlock for the rest of the season, which has led them to rely on Cooper Criswell and other spot starters over the past few months. Adding Paxton to the mix would provide a little more stability to their rotation, on top of taking some of the load off of struggling youngster Brayan Bello entering a possible playoff push.
The Dodgers, meanwhile, are rumored to be in the market for high-end starting pitchers ahead of Tuesday's trade deadline. Even with Clayton Kershaw and Tyler Glasnow coming off the injured list, Paxton didn't fit into that picture, giving Los Angeles the flexibility to boot him off the roster.
