The Dodgers are nominating the veteran left-hander. James Paxton to assign Reports Robert Murray of FanSided. The team has yet to officially announce the move.
Paxton, 35, signed a complex one-year contract with the Dodgers that will pay him a $3MM signing bonus, a $4MM salary, a $2MM roster bonus for making the Opening Day team, and $600K and $1MM series bonuses. Unlocked periodically based on number of games started. Paxton played 18 games this season, the final milestone needed to extend his contract. He will receive the full $13MM potential on the deal, but it looks like he will finish the season with one club or another.
It will be a move that will catch some. Paxton has an adequate 4.43 ERA and is the Dodgers’ healthiest starter despite a laundry list of injuries in recent years. He is tied to it Tyler Glasnow And Gavin Stone He has 18 starts for the team, but ranks well below both righties in total innings, as he averages less than five frames per start.
Paxton’s earned run average also belies some uninspiring numbers. His 16.4% strikeout rate is nearly six percentage points shy of the league average of 22.3%, and his 12.3% walk rate is just north of the 8.2% average. Although he posted a career-high 90.8 mph average exit velocity and a 43.3% hard-hit rate, he benefited from a 267 average assist on balls in the game. His big league time. Paxton has been hit particularly hard of late; He holds a 6.03 ERA in 37 1/3 innings (eight starts) since June 5. Extend that last point to mid-May, and Paxton has been torched for a 5.82 ERA over his past 11 starts — all with an average of 4 2/3 innings pitched.
The Dodgers are set to receive both Glasnon and Clayton Kershaw Back to their rounds this week. Glasnow has been out since July 9 with lower back tightness and will ultimately require at least a 15-day stint on the injured list. Kershaw has yet to pitch this season while recovering from shoulder surgery last November. That old couple will join Gavin Stone, Landon Knack And Justin Wrobleski As starting options for manager Dave Roberts, though, the Dodgers are also rumored to be raising a top pitching prospect. Ryan River For the first time this week. Both Ryan and Kershaw require the Dodgers to open up 40-man spots, and Paxton’s DFA appears to create one of those two openings.
Beyond Kershaw and Glasneau, the Dodgers hope they have Walker Buhler And Yoshinobu Yamamoto Come back from the hit list sometime next month. Right hand drive Bobby Miller It’s only picked between certain fights, but it gives the team another rotation option. And, of course, starting pitching is said to be one of the Dodgers’ priorities heading into next week’s trade deadline. It would be surprising if President of Baseball Operations Andrew Friedman didn’t add to his rotation in some capacity.
As for Paxton, he will now either be released or traded next week. The veteran lefty has more than enough service time to decline a direct assignment and retain his full salary, so the Dodgers won’t even try to showcase him. It’s easy to see a team in search of a rotation showing some interest, but at the same time, it’s hard for any club to give up on Paxton’s recent struggles, his relatively well-known salary, and the once-in-a-lifetime trade. Released, available at nothing but the projected league minimum.