Dodgers Reportedly Sign Red Sox Free Agent, Ending Reunion Hopes

Boston continues to miss out in free agency

Scott Neville | Jan 22, 2024

Dodgers Reportedly Sign Red Sox Free Agent, Ending Reunion Hopes /

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The Los Angeles Dodgers refuse to stop spending money in free agency despite investing over a billion dollars in the last few months.

The Boston Red Sox have felt the effects of the Dodgers' all-in approach, including their latest signing.

"The Dodgers are adding depth to the starting rotation by signing veteran James Paxton to a one-year contract," USA Today's Bob Nightengale reported late Monday night. "He’ll receive a base salary of at least $11 million with incentives, per Chad Dey."

Paxton posted a 4.50 ERA (101 ERA+) with a 101-to-33 strikeout-to-walk ratio, .250 batting average against and 1.31 WHIP in 96 innings across 19 starts for Boston.

The Red Sox were in the market for a starter in his tier and will have one less candidate to consider.

The Dodgers have now won bidding wars over Boston for two-way sensation Shohei Ohtani, right-handed ace Yoshinobu Yamamoto, outfielder Teoscar Hernández and Paxton.

With Paxton off the board, Michael Lorenzen, Hyun-jin Ryu and Michael Clevinger are the most likely options to bolster the Red Sox's rotation assuming Blake Snell and Jordan Montgomery are out of ownership's imaginary budgetary restraints.

Outfielder Adam Duvall appears to be the most likely reunion candidate out of Boston's free agent class with Paxton headed West.

More MLB: Impact Free Agent Has Multiple Red Sox Ties, Could Bolster Boston's Pitching Staff

Published Jan 22, 2024

SCOTT NEVILLE

Scott Neville covers the Boston Red Sox for Sports Illustrated's new page "Inside The Red Sox." Before starting "Inside The Red Sox", Neville attended Merrimack College, where he earned his Bachelor’s Degree in Communication and Media with a minor in Marketing. Neville spent all four years with Merrimack's radio station WMCK, where he grew as a radio/podcast host and producer. His propensity for being in front of a microphone eventually expanded to film, where he produced multiple short films alongside his then-roommate and current co-worker Stephen Mottram. On a journey that began as a way to receive easy credits via film classes, he received a call from "It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia" star Charlie Day. Day advised him to make a feature-length film, which he completed his senior year. While writing the film, Neville completed an internship for United Way as part of their NFL Partnership Program. Neville ran the blog for a team of interns and hosted an internet show called "United Way's NFL Partnership Series" where he interviewed NFL alumni. After college Neville wrote for SB Nation's "Over The Monster," a Red Sox sister site of the flagship brand. His work would eventually lead him to a job as a content producer with NESN, where he would cover all sports. After developing as a writer with the top regional network in the world, he was given the opportunity to join the Sports Illustrated Media Group in his current endeavor as the publisher of "Inside The Red Sox." The successful launch and quick rise of "Inside The Red Sox" led to Neville joining the Baseball Essential ownership group, a national baseball site under SIMG. Follow him on Twitter: @ScottNeville46 Email: nevilles@merrimack.edu