Dodgers Rumors: James Paxton Already Drawing Trade Interest From One Team

The Los Angeles Dodgers made the shocking decision to designate left-handed pitcher James Paxton for assignment on Monday.

Paxton, 35, had made all 18 of his scheduled starts for L.A. this year, going 8-2 with a 4.43 ERA. The Dodgers were 14-4 in his starts.

Paxton, however, had a high walk rate and low strikeout rate, and wasn’t going to factor into the Dodgers’ postseason plans. So, rather than keeping him as an innings-eater, the Dodgers decided to designate him for assignment and open up a roster spot for right-handed pitching prospect River Ryan, who debuted on Monday night.

Now, Paxton is on waivers, and the Dodgers will have a week to trade him before he hits free agency — and it sounds like that’s going to be a real possiblity.

On Tuesday, following the news of Paxton’s DFA, Rob Bradford of WEEI said the Boston Red Sox are expected to show interest in the left-handed pitcher.

“According to sources, there is a strong likelihood the Red Sox get in the mix for James Paxton, who was designated for assignment by the Dodgers Monday. But there will be competition for Paxton’s services considering he represents a piece of the puzzle more than a few contending teams are thirsty for – an inning-eating veteran starter who can help a club get to the finish line.”

This is great news for the Dodgers, who would love to get something in return for Paxton following the DFA. The Red Sox would make a lot of sense as Paxton made 19 starts with Boston in 2023, sporting a 4.50 ERA across 96 innings. For what it’s worth, Dodgers general manager Brandon Gomes said on Monday he expects there to be trade interest in Paxton.

“I would think so,” Gomes said. “We will take the time to vet out teams and who is interested. If we didn’t see James being part of the stretch run, now there would be enough time to see what interest is out there.”

Boston is expected to be one of the many teams with interest in Paxton, which bodes well for Los Angeles as they attempt to fetch a prospect in exchange for the veteran pitcher.

Paxton fulfilled his duty of being an innings-eater for Los Angeles in the first half of the season — now he’ll have an opportunity to fill that role with another team for the stretch run.

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