For the first time since April 6th of 2021 James Paxton will take the hill for a Major League ballclub. Chaim Bloom took a flyer on Paxton way back in December of 2021 on a one year plus option deal. He spent 2022 rehabbing his elbow after Tommy John. Paxton never saw the field in 2022 and has been rehabbing a pulled hamstring he suffered in his first start of spring training this year. After being paid six million in 2022 Paxton exercised that 4 million dollar option for 2023. And here we are.
I'm not going to sit here and call James Paxton fragile. Most TJ surgeries take 12 to 18 months to recover from. But a series of setbacks plagued Paxton ( 57 - 33 ) from getting back sooner. A lat strain here, a sore forearm there, a bad hammy and before you know it more than two years have passed. 765 days to be precise. I've known ballplayers who have torn off casts to get back on a field. Imagine how Paxton must have felt.
Two years is an eternity in baseball time. But Paxton has put in the work at AAA to get ready for his 2023 debut. He is 2-3 in six appearances. Five of those starts. He carries a worrisome looking 6.23 AAA ERA around his neck. But the velocity is there, from what we are seeing the movement on his pitches is there. In 21 innings of work he has 26 strikeouts and while his WHIP sits at 1.57 ( that's not good boys and girls) You have to realise this is a professional pitcher trying to get his stuff right for his return to a MLB team. Not a kid trying to get to the show for the first time. So I'm willing to overlook those numbers.
We have been patient with James Paxton, We will need to continue to be patient. Tonight's start is not the deciding factor in this man's season. Never mind his career.