The Dodgers admitted that they may have made a mistake in signing James Paxton when they designated him for assignment on Monday. Although Paxton was a workhorse for LA who, unlike everyone else in the rotation this year, made all of his starts while maintaining a sub-4.50 ERA, his outings were always concerning, and he was clearly not a guy they could rely on in the postseason. The Dodgers are aiming to improve before the trade deadline, and they wanted to create way for River Ryan to make his MLB debut, thus Paxton was bumped.
When they signed Paxton in the summer, he symbolized taking another player from right under the Red Sox’s nose. The first was Teoscar Hernández.
who famously rejected Boston because he didn’t think their summer strategy represented a drive to win. The Red Sox were interested in re-signing Paxton, but he picked the Dodgers to stay closer to home, and there was no indication that Boston made him an offer. However, it appears that Paxton was always destined for the Red Sox. According to FanSided insider Robert Murray, the Dodgers are in talks to send Paxton up to Boston. Dodgers are in talks to send James Paxton back to Boston in their first trade deadline move of the year.
Paxton has already maxed all the maximum performance-based bonuses contained into his modified Dodgers contract, so the Red Sox will only be responsible for what remains.
of his $7 million base salary for the year. That was obviously a huge motivation for Boston to make this transaction at all, as they’ve certainly portrayed themselves as (unnecessary) money pinchers. Adding a lefty starter makes sense as well; Tanner Houck and Kutter Crawford have performed better than expected this season, but Boston’s rotation is virtually barren of lefties. Paxton has remained unexpectedly healthy this season, and as previously stated, hasn’t been absolutely awful for the Dodgers.
If he can stay healthy, the Dodgers and Red Sox should both benefit. The Sox get a man they wanted to keep during the winter, the Dodgers get a minimal return, and the book is closed on the Paxton Seasonal chapter.
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