James Paxton suffered a proper calf pressure within the first inning of his begin on Sunday in opposition to the Astros, forcing the veteran left-hander from the mound. Paxton’s fifth pitch of the sport bought Yordan Alvarez to floor to first baseman Dominic Smith, however Paxton got here up limping when leaving the mound to cowl first base.
Chatting with MassLive.com’s Chris Cotillo (hyperlinks to X) and different media after the sport, Paxton stated he heard a popping sound in his leg. Paxton was utilizing crutches to maneuver round within the clubhouse, and he’ll get an MRI tomorrow to evaluate the injury.
A visit to the 15-day injured checklist appears inevitable, and it’s up within the air whether or not or not Paxton will even have the ability to pitch once more in 2024. Even when the MRI reveals the comparatively excellent news of “simply” a lower-grade pressure, such accidents can are inclined to linger. Additionally it is potential the Crimson Sox may shut Paxton down for the season if the staff falls out of the postseason race — Sunday’s 10-2 loss dropped the Sox three video games again of a wild card berth and prolonged Boston’s dropping streak to 4 video games.
The calf pressure is one other disheartening flip in a profession that has been marked by accidents, as Paxton was on tempo to keep away from the Main League injured checklist for the primary time since 2013. He hasn’t handled calf points up to now, although he missed time final yr with a pair of proper leg accidents, within the type of a hamstring pressure and knee irritation.
Paxton was with the Crimson Sox throughout that 2023 season, earlier than signing a one-year, $7M cope with the Dodgers final winter. Since Paxton stayed wholesome and has made 21 begins (and thrown 100 1/3 innings) in whole this season, he earned an additional $6M in contract incentives, which the Dodgers already coated earlier than he was dealt again to Boston in late July. The commerce was seen as a little bit of a shock given how Los Angeles has been ravaged by rotation accidents this season, and Paxton had a decent 4.43 ERA in his 89 1/3 innings as a Dodger. His Statcast numbers, nevertheless, have been a lot much less spectacular, and Sunday’s harm additionally underlines no matter issues the Dodgers may’ve had about Paxton remaining wholesome.
From Boston’s perspective, the Paxton commerce introduced a well-recognized face and a few rotation depth again to Fenway Park, nevertheless it appears to be like just like the Crimson Sox might need to once more scramble so as to add arms. Quinn Priester was acquired from the Pirates in one other pre-deadline commerce and may very well be known as up from Triple-A, or Brad Keller may very well be stretched out to work in a piggyback scenario, or as a bulk pitcher behind an opener. Cooper Criswell will miss not less than the remainder of the subsequent week on account of a placement on the COVID-related harm checklist, whereas Nick Pivetta is predicted to make his subsequent flip within the rotation after his final begin was skipped to offer further relaxation.
