As it turns out, James Paxton’s life in baseball has been a living hell ever since he parted ways with the Yankees.
The Red Sox’s manager, Alex Cora, announced on Thursday that the left-handed pitcher has a Grade 2 tear in his left lat muscle and will miss the rest of the season. Paxton hasn’t pitched in a major league game since April 2021.
Paxton made 29 starts for the Yankees in 2019. In 150.2 innings, he had a 3.82 ERA and a great 29.4% strikeout rate. He has played in New York, Seattle, and Boston, but he hasn’t been able to match those numbers because of injuries.
According to mlbtraderumors.com:
Paxton has been hurt a lot over the course of his career. Since 2014, he has spent time on the IL every year. In 2015, he was out for a long time because of a left lat strain. Paxton has also had trouble with his hands, arms, chest, knees, and elbows. In particular, the arm injuries have been hard to deal with over the past few years. The southpaw missed most of the short 2020 season because he was trying to heal from a forearm injury. He didn’t need surgery at the time, but in his first start the next year, he blew out in the second inning and had to have Tommy John surgery.
Last year, Paxton’s surgery cut short his reunion tour with the Mariners before it got very far. However, the Red Sox still gave him a $10M guarantee when they signed him this offseason. That complicated deal gave him a $6M salary for this season and two $13M club options for next year. It was basically a two-year, $26M deal that the Sox will decide on together this winter. If the team doesn’t take either of the options, Paxton would get a $4 million player option for 2023.
According to the Boston Globe:
Paxton just pitched in a rehab game in the Florida Complex League. He was still getting better after having surgery for Tommy John. Paxton’s turn, on the other hand, only lasted two batters before he had to be taken out.
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