Red Sox's James Paxton Dazzles In Latest Rehab Start, Set To Bolster Rotation

Boston needs to improve the starting staff if they want to compete this season

Scott Neville | May 1, 2023

Red Sox's James Paxton Dazzles In Latest Rehab Start, Set To Bolster Rotation /

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Boston Red Sox

The Boston Red Sox's starting staff has been even worse than most expected through one month of the season -- and the expectations were not high.

The Red Sox's 6.05 Starter ERA is the second-worst mark in Major League Baseball. The only team trailing Boston is the historically awful 6-23 Oakland Athletics.

If Chris Sale and Corey Kluber can settle in, that would make a notable difference but the rotation as currently constructed is not giving the club a chance to compete on a daily basis. One of the last remaining hopes to boost the rotation internally is left-hander James Paxton.

Paxton has spent the season rehabbing a hamstring strain with Triple-A Worcester. He got off to a rough start but still appeared to possess the physical traits that made him a successful big leaguer -- the 34-year-old reached 95-97 mph consistently.

Finally, Paxton saw positive results Sunday in his latest outing. The southpaw allowed just two hits and a walk with eight strikeouts across 5 1/3 innings for the WooSox. He also recorded 15 swing-and-misses while throwing 72% of his 90 pitches for strikes in a clash with the Yankees' Triple-A affiliate.

Boston tried to see how Paxton would fare in a bullpen role earlier in the season -- which resulted in seven earned runs over 2/3 of an inning. After a failed experiment, it appears that Paxton will return to the rotation when he is ready.

With five rehab outings under his belt and a dominant outing Sunday, Paxton could be called up for his next start -- though nothing has been announced yet. The Red Sox could also choose to give the lefty another chance to build on his most recent performance in Worcester. Either way, he's ready.

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Published May 1, 2023

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