Red Sox agree to deal with James Paxton, gambling on injured starter – The Athletic

With baseballs lockout looming, the Red Sox have reportedly added another starting pitcher, though one who may not be ready to contribute until the second half of next year.

Early Wednesday morning, the Red Sox agreed to a one-year, $10 million deal with left-hander James Paxton, according to multiple reports. The deal has club options for 2023 and 2024.

After a strong 2019 season, the 33-year-old Paxton has been plagued by injury the past two years, resulting in Tommy John surgery in April. Over 29 starts for the Yankees in 2019, Paxton posted a 3.82 ERA, striking out 29.3 percent of the batters he faced in 29 starts and 150 innings. But the following year, he was limited to just five starts over 20 innings due to elbow soreness. This past spring, he signed a one-year, $8.5 million deal with the Mariners, was brought along slowly in spring training, but exited the mound in the second inning of his first regular-season start for Seattle with elbow pain that led to surgery later that month.

Hes not going to be ready for Opening Day, chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom said. But we do expect to see him sometime in the second half of the season if all goes well. Were hopeful that when he does come back, hes going to be able to give us a lift. Weve seen before injuries really started to impact his career, he was one of the better lefthanded pitchers in the American League.

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Red Sox agree to deal with James Paxton, gambling on injured starter - The Athletic