Dodgers close to an agreement with Red Sox veteran left-hander
The Dodgers are closing in a on a one-year deal with free agent left-hander James Paxton, per reporter Chad Day and Jack Harris of the Los Angeles Times. The deal is expected to be around $12 million and will include incentive bonuses based on starts, per The Athletic’s Fabian Ardaya.
Los Angeles has been Major League Baseball’s most aggressive team this offseason. The club has committed over a billion dollars in free agency to Shohei Ohtani, Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Teoscar Hernández.
Paxton will join a Dodgers rotation that will be led by Yamamoto, Tyler Glasnow, Walker Buehler and Bobby Miller.
The 35-year-old originally joined the Red Sox prior to Major League Baseball’s lockout went into effect in Dec. 2021. Paxton’s deal paid him $6 million for 2022, which he missed the entire season recovering from Tommy John surgery. His deal had a complicated two-year option for 2023.
Boston declined a two-year, $26 million option, triggering a $4 million player option for Paxton last season.
The lefty pitched a total of 96 innings over 19 starts, all coming after his team debut in May. Paxton missed the start of the 2023 season after injuring his hamstring in spring training. In total, he posted a 7-5 record with a 4.50 ERA, 1.313 WHIP and 101 strikeouts.
Upon making his Red Sox debut, Paxton was dominant over his first 10 starts, where he posted a 2.73 ERA with 64 strikeouts over 56 innings. He then struggled in the second half after being tagged for 31 earned runs and 52 hits over 40 innings. The lefty posted a 6.98 ERA over that span.
Paxton is the first Red Sox player to depart in free agency. The Dodgers had interest in acquiring the lefty at the trade deadline last season. Boston was not able to get a deal done and only added Luis Urías from the Brewers.
Boston has now seen two members of its rotation leave, the other was Chris Sale, who the team traded at the end of December for Vaughn Grissom.
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Paxton, 35 year old. Will be no loss to the Bosox.