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