“Red Sox Eyeing James Paxton for Rotation Reinforcement: A Potential Reunion on the Horizon”

The Red Sox are reportedly expressing keen interest in a reunion with left-handed pitcher James Paxton, according to Rob Bradford of WEEI. Paxton, 35, initially joined Boston ahead of the 2021 season during his recovery from Tommy John surgery. After sitting out the entire 2022 season, he made 19 starts for the Red Sox in 2023.

Paxton’s career, which began in 2013, has been marked by persistent injuries. Back surgery, UCL procedures, and various issues with his knee, hamstring, and forearm have plagued him. Despite these concerns, Paxton has demonstrated the potential to be a quality No. 2 starter when in peak condition.

Between 2016 and 2019, Paxton made 101 starts, recording a 3.60 ERA and 3.16 FIP with an impressive 28.5% strikeout rate across 568 innings.

The first half of the 2023 season seemed promising for Paxton as he regained his earlier dominance. In his initial nine starts, he struck out an impressive 31.1% of batters, posting a 2.70 ERA and 3.22 FIP over 50 innings. However, his form declined in the latter part of the season, with a 6.46 ERA and a reduced 18.6% strikeout rate in the final ten starts.

While acknowledging a skewed performance due to a challenging 9 2/3 inning stint with knee inflammation, Paxton’s overall season statistics of a 4.50 ERA and a 24.6% strikeout rate suggest he may function better as a back-end starter.

While the Red Sox might hope for improvement in Paxton’s performance with improved health in 2024, expecting him to return to ace-level production in his age-35 season may be unrealistic. Nevertheless, Boston’s rotation could benefit from adding more than one starter, relieving pressure on young arms like Kutter Crawford, Tanner Houck, and Garrett Whitlock, and bolstering depth in case of additional injury setbacks for Chris Sale.

Considering the team’s ongoing pursuit of a front-end starting pitcher, even after missing out on Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Paxton emerges as a potentially valuable secondary addition, especially given his expressed desire to return to Boston in 2024.