James Paxton was the Dodgers’ healthiest starting pitcher in an injury-plagued season.
Only after being traded to the Boston Red Sox before the July 30 deadline, Paxton suffered a season-ending calf strain in his third game for Boston on August 11.
Now it seems as if the injury will end Paxton’s career.
The pitcher told Rob Bradford of the podcast “Baseball Isn’t Boring” that he plans to retire after the season.
James Paxton just told me that he plans to retire after this season. Interview follows on the @BBisntBoring Podcast
— Rob Bradford (@bradfo) 11 September 2024
From his first start of the season in April to July 21, Paxton’s last start in a Dodgers uniform, he and rookie Gavin Stone were the only ones to avoid being placed on the injured list. Bobby Miller, Walker Buehler, Tyler Glasnow, Clayton Kershaw and Yoshinobu Yamamoto were alternately placed on and off the injured list in the meantime.
Paxton was performing admirably after signing a one-year, $7 million contract. He had an 8-2 record and a 4.43 earned run average when the Dodgers called him up on July 21 to make room on their 40-man roster for the promotion of River Ryan.
A few days before the trade deadline on July 30, the Dodgers traded Paxton to the Red Sox in exchange for the promising Moises Bolivar.
Paxton went 1-1 in his first two starts after the trade before facing the Houston Astros in Boston on August 11. He faced just three batters before a calf strain forced him to leave the game.
Ultimately, Boston moved Paxton from the 15-day injured list to the 60-day injured list, ending his season.
Paxton, 35, went 73-41 with a 3.77 ERA in parts of 11 seasons (2013-24). The British Columbia native made his name with the Seattle Mariners from 2013-18, going 41-26 with a 3.42 ERA (117 ERA+) in 102 starts.
The Mariners traded Paxton to the New York Yankees in November 2018 for pitchers Justus Sheffield and Erik Swanson. After making a career-high 29 starts for the Yankees in 2019, the last five years of Paxton’s career were marred by injuries.
Paxton started five games for the Yankees in 2020, limited by a strained left flexor tendon. He underwent Tommy John surgery in April 2021, which kept him out of action until 2023. He started 19 games for the Boston Red Sox this season before a torn latissimus dorsi ended his season in August.
In May 2018, Paxton became the second Canadian-born player to ever throw a no-hitter in the MLB.
