Left-back James Paxton returns to the Seattle Mariners after a second season full of injuries with the New York Yankees.
Paxton and the sailors agree on a one-year, $ 8.5 million deal, sources told ESPN’s Jeff Passan on Saturday. The contract includes affordable bonuses that could reach its value of up to $ 10 million, sources said.
Paxton, 32, was 41-26 with an ERA of 3.42 for sailors from 2013 to 2018, eliminating 617 and walking 168 in 582⅓ entries. He was traded to the Yankees in November 2018 by a potential left-back, Justus Sheffield, along with camper Dom Thompson-Williams and right-hander Erik Swanson.
The sailors held out hope when Paxton was changed that in the future there might be a meeting with the native of Ladner, in British Columbia.
Paxton struggled in the first half of his first season in New York, rediscovering the ball he broke in the second half and going 15-6 with an ERA of 3.82. He won the top ten consecutive career starts before abandoning his last start to the regular season after an entry on September 27, 2019.
The Yankees said he had tight left gluteal muscle and scored again 1-0 with an ERA of 3.46 in three postseason starts, allowing five runs in 13 innings. But he needed surgery in February 2020, when Dr. Andrew Dossett of Dallas performed a microscopic lumbar discectomy to repair a herniated disc and remove a peridiscal cyst.
Paxton was able to start the season on time when the COVID-19 pandemic caused a delay until the end of July, but reached only 2-3 with an ERA of 6.64 in five starts. He didn’t pitch after Aug. 20 after suffering what the Yankees said was a low-grade strain on his left forearm flexor.
The Yankees let Paxton, Masahiro Tanaka and JA Happ leave as free agents, replacing them with Corey Kluber and Jameson Taillon.
Paxton was a fan favorite during his first stint in Seattle. His best seasons came in 2017 and 2018, when he added a 23-11 combined with a 3.40 ERA and threw the only non-hitter of his career in May 2018 against the Toronto Blue Jays .
Paxton’s figures will join a rotation initially planned to include Marco Gonzales, Yusei Kikuchi, Sheffield and Justin Dunn. Finishing third in the American West League 27-33, Seattle previously added right-back Chris Flexen, who agreed to a two-year, $ 4.75 million contract.
Seattle is expected to use a six-man rotation, which would likely eliminate about five starts from each pitcher in the rotation. Paxton’s addition will likely make Nick Margevicius move to a bullpen role.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.