The Los Angeles Dodgers traded pitcher James Paxton to the Boston Red Sox for minor league infielder Moises Bolivar on Friday.
Bolivar, a 17-year-old from Venezuela, hit .270 with three home runs and 19 RBIs with the Dominican Summer League Red Sox. He agreed to a minor league contract with Boston in January for a $25,000 signing bonus.
Paxton was designated for assignment on Monday, a day after he pitched against the Red Sox and earned the win. He allowed three runs and four hits in five innings, with seven strikeouts and four walks. The 35-year-old left-hander was 8-2 with a 4.43 ERA in 18 starts with the Dodgers this season.
"Obviously, we faced him last week and the opportunity came up," Red Sox manager Alex Cora said at Fenway Park before Friday's game against the New York Yankees. "We know him. I think stuff-wise, throughout the season, I think the fastball has been down, but not last week. He ended up on a good note. The velocity was up."
The 11-year veteran has pitched for Seattle, the New York Yankees, Boston and the Dodgers. Paxton is 72-40 with a 3.76 ERA in 174 career starts. He has 996 career strikeouts in 940 innings. He was signed by the Dodgers in January to a one-year contract guaranteeing $7 million with the chance to earn up to $6 million more in bonuses.
"I talked to him this morning," Cora said. "This is a place that he understands and he knows. It's good to have him."
Cora said the plan is for Paxton to join the rotation. To make room on the 40-man Roster, the Red Sox transferred right-handed pitcher Bryan Mata to the 60-day IL.
"A guy with a proven track record on this team, this division," Boston Chief Baseball Officer Craig Breslow said of Paxton. "Left-handed, checked a lot of boxes for us. Went into this (trade deadline) stretch right now thinking that adding starting pitching was important for us. To get something done early on, which is great, enables us to continue to look at other opportunities to improve the club."
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