James Paxton was adamant all week that he was going to make his start Friday night in Toronto against the Blue Jays. The Sox lefty was dealing with right knee soreness that he began to experience in his last start in Chicago.
“I’m good to go,” Paxton told his skipper Alex Cora and the southpaw delivered on his words.
Paxton was brilliant tossing 7 2/3 scoreless innings, keeping them at bay with his fastball that maxed out at one point at 98.2 mph.
“His stuff is really good,” Cora said. “Stuff-wise, I believe tonight was his best one. You can see the feedback from the opposition: check swings, late on the fastballs. The slider-cutter thing was really good. He was under control. He worked hard during the week to be able to make this start and it paid off.”
He threw his four-seam fastball 64 times and recorded 15 swings and misses. Eight of them came off his cutter and he threw 17 knuckle-curve balls to keep the opposing batters off balance.
Paxton was perfect through the first 2 2/3 innings of the game before Santiago Espinal singled with two outs. Despite the hit, it didn’t shake his confidence as he struck out George Springer in the next a-bat on three pitches.
James Paxton's 5Ks thru 3. pic.twitter.com/a3GQgWAO9i
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) June 30, 2023
The Sox gave Paxton an extra day of rest this week, allowing him to deal with the inflammation in his right knee that limited him to just four innings against the White Sox last Saturday.
“He’s very honest about it. Throughout the whole process, the rehab, he was honest with us,” Cora said. “I don’t think he’s going to take a chance with everything that has happened over the last few years. When he says he’s ready to go, he’s ready to go. He did an amazing job. We’re very proud of him.”
Paxton wore a knee brace while pitching. It was the first time he pitched with a brace this season, but he has worn one in the past when dealing with knee soreness.
“There were a couple times that I felt it but it didn’t stay,” Paxton said about the soreness. “So that was good.”
Paxton is 4-1 with a 2.70 ERA, an 0.96 WHIP, and 11 strikeouts per nine innings through nine starts. He has been one of the bright spots for the club while anchoring down the rotation in Chris Sale’s absence.
The tall lefty was efficient all night attacking the strike zone. The closest he came to surrendering a run was back in the first inning. Blue Jays All-Star Vladimir Guerrero Jr. crushed a fly ball too deep center field. Sox speedy center fielder Jarren Duran ran the fly ball down in front of the wall.
JARREN DURAN AT THE WALL! 🤯 pic.twitter.com/96lzRwLmhz
— Red Sox (@RedSox) June 30, 2023
“It was big,” Paxton said. “The knee held up really well. We did a lot of great work on it this week and it felt strong out there.”
Paxton will return back to Boston to meet his wife as the couple is expecting the birth of their second child.
“We’re expecting on Monday," Paxton said.
If Paxton continues to make efficient starts like this, he will increase his trade value. Right now, the left-hander is the Sox' most tradable asset on their roster if Chaim Bloom elects to sell at the MLB trade deadline.
With roughly $2 million dollars reaming on his contract ($4 million club option from last season) he should net back a haul from a team looking to add another top arm to their rotation.
It’s unclear if the Sox will be buyers, sellers or retool similar to what they did last season at the deadline. Sam Kennedy told reporters that the club is focused on playing better baseball and positioning themselves for a possible postseason berth.
“If things change, we’ll address that at that time,” Kennedy said. “But no one’s thinking about the trade deadline right now. We’re just thinking about trying to put ourselves in a position where we’re looking to add to this team.”
If things do indeed change, Paxton is their brightest trade chip to land premium talent back in return.