Red Sox's James Paxton Could Be Headed To Bullpen Given Change To Rehab Schedule
Are the Boston Red Sox preparing to move James Paxton to the bullpen this season? Their latest change to his schedule indicates as much.
The 34-year-old hurler has started 137 games at the major league level and never once appeared out of the bullpen. The Red Sox are certainly toying with the idea.
“James Paxton is expected to pitch both Tuesday and Sunday for the WooSox,” The Boston Globe’s Alex Speier tweeted.
Given that Paxton -- who is rehabbing a pulled hamstring -- is expected to pitch twice within a six-day span. It's safe to assume he will come in as a reliever with little rest between games.
Paxton's first appearance as a reliever for Triple-A Worcester turned into a disaster abruptly. The plan was to come into the game out of the bullpen just to get experience doing so but still make a full-length appearance of roughly five innings to remain stretched out.
Instead, the veteran allowed seven earned runs on five hits and two walks in just 2/3 of an inning. He's now up to an 11.57 ERA in three outings for the WooSox.
Although his last few appearances for Worcester weren’t encouraging, the 34-year-old is still looking to get back to where he was before undergoing both Tommy John and his recent hamstring strain.
The ramp-up in games this week for Paxton is intriguing because he could potentially add a much-needed southpaw to the pitching staff -- whether he ultimately ends up in the rotation or bullpen.
With Joely Rodriguez expected to miss a notable chunk of games, Paxton could provide some aid to Richard Bleier -- the only southpaw in the bullpen in a permanent capacity.
More importantly, Paxton adds another talented arm to the mix at a time when multiple members of both the rotation and bullpen are struggling.
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