James Paxton Can Be Difference Maker for Yankees
It’s almost easy to forget. But one of the Yankees’ biggest offseason acquisitions happened way back in November: the trade for lefty pitcher James Paxton from the Mariners.
The Yankees rotation was the shakiest part of a team that won 100 games. But they still managed to finish behind their division rival Red Sox. Young ace Luis Severino looked like a Cy Young candidate until his maddeningly erratic second half. While the rest of the rotation either went down with injuries (Jordan Montgomery, CC Sabathia, Masahiro Tanaka) or was just plain old awful (I’m looking at you Sonny Gray). J.A. Happ, acquired at the trade deadline, was a consistent force during their playoff run. The Yankees signed Happ to a two-year deal this offseason. It will be good to have him on board for a full season.
But it’s Paxton, the man known as the Big Maple because of his stature and Canadian roots, who has the potential to be the difference maker for the Bombers this season. He went 41-26 with a 3.42 ERA and 9.5 strikeouts per nine innings across 102 starts with Seattle. And he’s posted a sub 4.00 ERA in each of his seasons with the M’s.
While those numbers are impressive, what will be the real key to his success at hitter-friendly Yankee Stadium is his ability to make opposing hitters swing and miss. Paxton’s contact rate has steadily declined since 2015 reaching a career low 73 percent last season. The southpaw has the fourth-highest strikeout rate in the entire league: 11.6 strikeouts per nine innings. For a team like the Yankees, quite error-prone last season, that’s a big deal. You don’t have to worry about Miguel Andujar taking his sweet time throwing across the infield if the opposing team is striking out.
I know, the Yankees have been burned before with pitching trades—Jeff Weaver, Javiar Vazquez twice. And most recently Sonny Gray, who seemed totally out of his league both on and off the mound during his time in the Bronx. Paxton, however, has a different make up. In his dealings with the media, he comes across calm and humble. His demeanor is unflappable. Hell, the man barely flinched when an eagle tried to land on him.
The one knock on Paxton would be his injuries. He has spent time on the DL every season he’s been in the big leagues. His injuries, however, have not been acute—nothing structural and nothing in his shoulder or elbow—or chronic. They’ve been of the torn nail, blister, muscle-strain variety. You could even argue that his time on the DL means the 30-year-old has a lot less wear and tear on his pitching arm than most hurlers his age.
With pitchers and catchers reporting this week, keep an eye on the Big Maple this spring. He is poised to be the big difference when it comes to the Yankees next world championship.
