The Los Angeles Dodgers have traded veteran left-hander James Paxton to the Boston Red Sox, the club he pitched for in 2023, the teams confirmed Friday.
The Red Sox are sending Moises Bolivar, an infielder currently in the Dominican Summer League, to the Dodgers in return. Fansided first reported talks between the two sides.
Once the Dodgers designated Paxton for assignment on Monday, it was a matter of when — not if — they would find a trade partner. The club remains in the intriguing position of needing starting pitching help and trading one of two starters they had who hadn’t missed a start. But Paxton was unlikely to be an October contributor for the Dodgers even before he signed his deal, and outright cutting him this close to the deadline allowed them some roster flexibility while they found a trade partner.
Paxton can still provide innings, remaining healthy thus far this season and logging 18 starts. The numbers on those innings aren’t the most appealing, with a 4.43 ERA and a 4.96 FIP to go with a dip in velocity from his 2023 campaign (from 95.2 mph to 93.2 mph). For a Red Sox club that entered Friday with the eighth-lowest rotation ERA in baseball, it provides familiar reinforcements and potentially an environment to rediscover some of what made him effective in the first half of 2023 (2.73 ERA in 10 starts).
For the Dodgers, it was a matter of getting something else out of a pitcher who didn’t seem to be in their October picture. The club was bullish on the fact they’d be able to generate a market for Paxton, particularly with the 35-year-old only owed a prorated amount of his $4 million base salary. Paxton already collected his $3 million signing bonus and hit all of his performance bonuses (worth $6 million), cashing in the last $1 million in his final start as a Dodger — funnily enough, a win over the Red Sox.
(File photo from 2023: Winslow Townson / Getty Images)
