James Paxton makes his Red Sox debut against the Cardinals
Red Sox left-handed pitcher James Paxton will finally make his team debut on Friday night when he starts against the Cardinals from Fenway Park.
Paxton’s long road recovering from Tommy John surgery and other ailments finally seems to be in the past for the veteran lefty.
The 34-year-old last pitched in the majors on April 6, 2021. Now two years later, he will make is long awaited debut in front of the Fenway faithful crowd.
“It has been up and down,” Red Sox manager Alex Cora said. “Last year, he was very close to contributing and it didn’t happen. Obviously, in the offseason, a lot of people thought he was going to opt out and he decided to stay here. He has been working hard. It was a weird offseason, spring training, too, but happy for him that he’s going to be able to perform.
“You guys know how I feel,” Cora added. “He can throw six innings of scoreless baseball or he can give it up. It really doesn’t matter. It’s about him being able to compete at this level. That’s the most important thing. After that, we’ll go from there.”
Paxton has made two career starts against the Cardinals, he owns a 1-0 record with a 4.09 ERA, giving up five earned runs in 11 innings pitched.
The southpaw’s move to the rotation will ultimately lead to either Nick Pivetta or Tanner Houck moving to the bullpen. Cora will make decisions on his rotation either Monday or Tuesday next week following the Cardinals series.
The Red Sox skipper threw cold water on the possibility of a six-man rotation and wants to stay with a more traditional five-man group.
Paxton’s last full season in the majors came in 2019 when he pitched with the Yankees. He set a career high in wins with 15 and starts with 29.
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