Red Sox lefty James Paxton enters spring training healthy
Paxton enters spring training at Fenway South as a healthy participant
Red Sox fans will be eager to see how lefty James Paxton looks down in Fort Myers as Spring Training begins. Paxton enters camp as a healthy participant, per Alex Speier of the Boston Globe.
The left-hander is looking to make a contribution to the Red Sox rotation this season, after missing all of last year rehabbing from Tommy John surgery. He also dealt with a Grade 2 left lat strain in August, ultimately ending his season.
Paxton returns for his second season in with the Red Sox organization after the club declined his two-year, $26 million club option. The 34-year-old exercised his $4 million club option to return to Boston.
Red Sox manager Alex Cora is focused on ensuring Paxton and his other starters remain healthy as the team navigates spring training.
“Just keep everybody healthy and make decisions towards the end of camp,” Cora said. “We cannot get ahead of ourselves. Obviously there’s a lot of question marks, a lot of red flags. But as of now, everybody’s on track. Everybody feels good about themselves. Physically, they’re OK. So we’ve just got to keep building up and see where we’re at in a few weeks. Then after that, we’ll make decisions.”
Paxton will join Sale, Garrett Whitlock, Nick Pivetta, Corey Kluber, Brayan Bello and Tanner Houck who are all competing for a spot in the five man rotation.
Cora however did not rule out the Sox using a six-man rotation to begin the season.
“We’ll see where we’re at in the upcoming weeks,” Cora said.
Red Sox chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom poured cold water on the idea of Paxton pitching out of the bullpen at the end of January.
“With somebody at the stage of his career that he’s at and having through as much medically as he’s been through, adding the variable of asking him to do something he hasn’t really done is something we would have to think long and hard before doing. That doesn’t rule it out, but you do have to factory that in,” said Bloom on the Fenway Rundown Podcast.
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