In 2021, the Red Sox received a late-season boost from Chris Sale, who debuted in mid-August after recovering from Tommy John surgery. In 2022, the club is hoping for a similar spark from another lefty on the mend.
On Wednesday, the Sox officially announced the signing of veteran lefty James Paxton, who underwent Tommy John surgery in late April and will not be ready for the start of the season. The 33-year-old, who owns a 3.59 ERA in parts of nine big-league seasons with the Mariners (2013-18, 2021) and Yankees (2019-20), is expected at some point after the All-Star break, Sox chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom said.
“We do expect to see him sometime in the second half of the season if all goes well,” Bloom said. “We’re hopeful that when he does come back, he’s going to be able to give us a lift. We’ve seen before injuries really started to impact his career, this guy was one of the better left-handed pitchers in the American League. If he gets back to that, he could provide a huge boost for us in the second half.”
With Sale, who underwent his procedure in March 2020, the Sox took an extremely cautious approach, knowing that the ace was under contract through 2024. With Paxton, things might be a little bit different. The Sox obviously would never act aggressively enough to put a player’s health in jeopardy, but the complicated nature of Paxton’s contract means that both sides are incentivized to get him back on the mound by the end of the year.
According to a major-league source, Paxton signed a one-year contract that guarantees $10 million and includes a two-year club option for the club to either exercise or decline after the 2022 season. If the Sox pick it up, Paxton will be guaranteed $26 million in 2023 and 2024 ($13 million in each season). If the team declines, Paxton can either exercise a one-year player option for 2023 at $4 million or turn it down and become a free agent.
The contract guarantees $10 million (a $6 million base salary in 2022 and the $4 million conditional player option) and can max out at $35 million over three years if performance bonuses and escalators are met. Simply put, the deal gives both sides flexibility and upside, depending on how Paxton pitches when healthy.
“We also have the ability, if all goes well this coming year, to control him for a couple years after that,” Bloom said. “That was a big part of this deal for us.”
Paxton wasn’t the only pre-lockout addition for the Red Sox, who also signed starters Michael Wacha and Rich Hill and swung a surprising four-player deal that sent outfielder Hunter Renfroe to Milwaukee for Jackie Bradley Jr. and two prospects.
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Boston Red Sox signing James Paxton similar to what Rays did with Nathan Eovaldi in 2017
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