The Mariners in Seattle have an agreement with James Paxton, by Chad Dey of Sportsnet650 (via Twitter). The athletic Ken Rosenthal confirm the agreement. Paxton will earn $ 8.5 million for a one-year bonus agreement that increases the potential value to $ 10 million, according to ESPN’s Jeff Passan (via Twitter). “Big Maple” earns an additional $ 750,000 with 10 games and $ 750,000 with 20 games, add Jon Heyman of MLB Network. Paxton is represented by the Boras Corporation.
By scoring just one season, Paxton will have the opportunity to prove his good health and return to the open market. It’s no small thing that he will be able to do it in an environment where he is comfortable, because he made T-Mobile Park his home from 2013 to 2018. If one accepts good health, Paxton should have no trouble meeting the performance incentives to make this contract a success. clean $ 10MM.
Health, of course, was not always Paxton’s strong case. Before missing most of 2020 with a left-elbow strain, Paxton spent time on the injured list with knee inflammation, twice the forearm’s knees, lower back inflammation, a tense chest muscle, a left elbow. contusion, a tense tendon in his middle finger, as well as hitting the shelf twice in 2014 with a left Latissimus dorsi muscle strain (read: back). He started just five times for the Yankees this season, after 29, 28, 24 and 20 the four years before. Despite the ailments, Paxton largely persevered before missing most of 2020.
It is worth mentioning that the Mariners were clear about their intention to end a six-man rotation in 2021. Still, a healthy season will put Paxton past the 20-game threshold, and the extra time between the start of the game is more likely to help Paxton. make it up to 20 games as hurt. The 32-year-old will turn with his southern legs near the top of the marines Marco Gonzales, Yusei Kikuchi, en Justus Sheffield. Lawyers Chris Flexen and Justin Dunn is expected to round out the six-man crew.
For the Mariners, the deal has few drawbacks. Seattle still has a payroll below $ 100 million and their long-term flexibility intact. Meanwhile, they get Paxton back to the team that drafted him in the fourth round of the 2010 draft. He started 102 seasons for the Mariners, and he gained a reputation as an appetizer with leading potential through a 3.58 ERA / 3.13 FIP to 582 1/3 overs up to that point. The Mariners awarded him to the Yankees after the 2018 season for Dom Thompson-Williams, Erik Swanson, and Sheffield. The Mariners will now enjoy at least one season of Paxton and Sheffield in the rotation.
On the diamond, Paxton has the potential to move the needle for the Mariners. Limited to just 20 1/3 innings in 2020, Paxton has entered the free agency on the heels of an uninspiring 6.64 era. However, many of Paxton’s underlying statistics were much more positive. He recorded a 4.37 FIP / 3.88 SIERA, usually a strong pass rate of 28.9 percent and about 7.8 percent run rate. He even achieved a career high of average fast ball speed of 90.7 km / h.
A baseball figure of 32.1 percent continued a two-year rise in the volleyball rate, leading to more home runs in the Bronx. Before joining the Yankees, however, Paxton had a baseball figure of 44.7 percent. At this price point, betting on a return to his career norms is a reasonable gamble for the Ms, who will still position themselves as a potential sleeper in a year in which the AL West looks more open than ever before.