July 23, 2024

By Kevin Glew

Canadian Baseball Network

In a surprise move, the Los Angeles Dodgers designated left-hander James Paxton for assignment on Monday.

The move was made to clear a roster spot for the club’s No. 4 prospect, right-hander River Ryan, who made his big league debut on Monday.

In 18 starts for the Dodgers this season, Paxton (Ladner, B.C.) was 8-2 with a 4.43 ERA with 64 strikeouts in 89 innings. He also had a National League-leading 48 walks.

The 35-year-old left-hander had just recorded his eighth win of the season on Sunday when he started and allowed three runs on four hits, while striking out seven, in the Dodgers’ 9-6 win over the Boston Red Sox at Dodger Stadium.

"Obviously not an easy decision,” Dodgers general manager Brandon Gomes told MLB.com of designating the Canadian southpaw. “Pax is a total pro, did everything that we asked of him. I think with where we’re at right now, fortunately enough it feels like there’s some starting pitching coming back health-wise. … Everything that went into that decision was winning games short-term, but also looking at what we would project as potential postseason, down-the-stretch roster."

On top of needing a roster spot for Ryan, the Dodgers will be activating right-hander Tyler Glasnow on Wednesday and Clayton Kershaw on Thursday.

Paxton will now be traded or released by the Dodgers within the next seven days. The Canuck lefty has enough big league service time to reject an outright minor league assignment and retain his full salary. But there’s expected to be plenty of interest in him from teams looking for starting pitching depth down the stretch.

Paxton signed a complicated one-year deal with the Dodgers in February that, including bonuses, will pay him $13 million this season. He inked the deal after going 7-5 with a 4.50 ERA in 19 starts for the Red Sox last season. Prior to that, he had missed almost two full seasons after undergoing Tommy John surgery.

A North Delta Blue Jays and Junior National Team alum, Paxton has pitched in parts of 11 major league campaigns with the Seattle Mariners, New York Yankees, Red Sox and Dodgers and owns a 72-40 record and a 3.76 ERA in 174 starts.