Former Yankees Pitcher Goes to AL East Rival
James Paxton is on the move once again. The veteran left-handed starter has bounced around over the last few years and is moving again, but to a team he is familiar with.
The Los Angeles Dodgers sent Paxton to the Boston Red Sox for minor-league infielder Moises Bolivar. Paxton previously pitched with the Red Sox over the last two seasons and now returns to Boston for a second stint after the Dodgers, surprisingly, designated him for an assignment.
In 89.1 innings pitched with the Dodgers, the 35-year-old has an 8-2 record, a 4.43 ERA, 64 strikeouts, and a 1.46 WHIP. While Paxton was pitching well this season, the Dodgers had veteran Clayton Kershaw returning from the injured list.
Hence, the decision to DFA Paxton made sense for Los Angeles, making him available to other teams.
The Boston Red Sox are acquiring left-hander James Paxton in a trade with the Los Angeles Dodgers, sources tell ESPN. Done deal.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) July 26, 2024
Paxton, 35, will return to Boston, where he spent the 2023 season, after being DFA’d by the Dodgers. In 89.1 innings this season, he has a 4.43 ERA.
Yankees fans are familiar with Paxton too, who pitched in New York during the 2019 and 2020 seasons. New York acquired "Big Maple" ahead of the 2019 season from the Seattle Mariners for Justus Sheffield, Dom Thompson-Williams, and Erik Swanson.
In 2019, the veteran was 15–6 with a 3.82 ERA in 29 starts with 186 strikeouts. Paxton also had the opportunity to pitch in the postseason, making three appearances, including a dominant start against the Houston Astros in Game 5 of the ALCS.
Paxton went six innings, had nine strikeouts, and only allowed one run to help the Yankees win 4-1 and avoid elimination. In 2020, Paxton wasn't as dominant as the previous year because of a shortened season due to COVID-19 and several injuries. He re-signed with the Mariners following the season and joined the Red Sox the year after.
With the end of the first half of this season not going the way the Yankees anticipated and a rough start to the second half, New York must make moves at the deadline to get them back on track.
The American League is still wide open, with the Yankees trailing only two games to the Baltimore Orioles in the AL East. There's still plenty of time for the Yankees to improve, but they must start winning crucial series.
With a demoralizing series loss to the New York Mets and now heading into Boston to face the Red Sox, the Yankees need help in several areas. One of the main areas of concern is starting pitching. While they could've pursued Paxton, he is now off the table. Brian Cashman and the Yankees must pivot and find help elsewhere.
It will be interesting to see what the Yankees do to improve their starting pitching at this year's deadline. One name linked to New York is Jameson Taillon of the Chicago Cubs, who played in the Bronx in '21 and '22.
The Yankees and Cubs have had several trades occur at the deadline in recent years, involving players like Anthony Rizzo, Gleyber Torres, Aroldis Chapman, and Scott Effross.
With Taillon's experience pitching in New York, and Chicago likely selling this year, we'll see if Cashman can pull off another deal with the Cubs to land the right-hander.
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