James Paxton’s 2020 campaign never got off the ground—elbow woes limited him to 20 1/3 innings—but apparently that hasn’t stopped teams from checking in on the free-agent left-hander. According to Paxton’s agent Scott Boras and relayed by Jon Morosi of MLB Network, “Big Maple” is proving to be a hot commodity, drawing a “great deal of interest” on the open market. No specific teams have been linked to Paxton, who is, at least in Boras’ estimation, “close” to throwing for talent evaluators.
There’s reason to be wary of Paxton given his age (32) and durability concerns—his career-high in innings is only 160.1. The former Yankees and Mariners hurler also did himself no favors with his sluggish 2020 performance, contributing a career-worst 6.64 ERA in his five appearances for the Bombers. For those reasons, Paxton could come relatively cheap—some have speculated the veteran may be amenable to a one-year deal of the “prove-it” variety—potentially mitigating some of his other risk factors.
Paxton, who threw a no-hitter while with the Mariners in 2018, saw his velocity take a turn for the worst last season (he averaged just 92.1 mph on his fastball), though perhaps that could be attributed to his lingering back and elbow injuries. The University of Kentucky alum has never been chosen for an All-Star team, a surprise given his outstanding track record (career 3.58 ERA, 9.9 K/9 across 136 big-league starts). Teams tend to place a premium on left-handed starting pitchers under the presumption they pose a greater challenge to lefty hitters, but unfortunately that’s never been the case for Paxton who, for whatever reason, has fared significantly worse against southpaw batters (.283 BAA compared to .229 versus right-handers).
The Paxton ship has probably sailed in the Big Apple along with fellow lefty J.A. Happ, who became a free agent after the Yankees declined his club option for next season. With right-handed ace Masahiro Tanaka also untethered, New York’s rotation could take on a drastically different look in 2021. That said, the Yankees boast a number of promising young arms (prized prospect Deivi Garcia among them) and should benefit from the returns of Luis Severino (Tommy John surgery) and Domingo German, the latter recently reinstated from an 81-game suspension.
Per FanGraphs’ latest salary projections, Paxton should expect something in the two-year, $30-million range on his next contract.
LISTEN NOW on the RADIO.COM App
Follow RADIO.COM Sports
Twitter | Facebook I Instagram