August 15, 2024

By Kevin Glew

Canadian Baseball Network

Some mid-week Canadian baseball news and notes:

Paxton tears calf muscle

On Sunday, Boston Red Sox left-hander James Paxton (Ladner, B.C.) suffered a partially torn calf muscle just five pitches into his start.

The veteran southpaw crumbled to the ground after attempting to cover first base on a ground ball to first baseman Dominic Smith.

Paxton, who had to be helped off the field, was placed on the 15-day injured list on Monday, but it’s unlikely he’ll return this year.

“It’s a decent tear,” Paxton told reporters on Tuesday. “I think it’s going to take a little bit of time. It’s going to cut it pretty close towards the end [of the season]. I’ll do whatever I can to recover as quickly as possible and see if there’s any time left. That’s basically where we’re at. Up against the clock.”

After going 8-2 with a 4.43 ERA in 18 starts with the Los Angeles Dodgers to begin the season, the 35-year-old Paxton was designated for assignment and traded to the Red Sox on July 26 for Moises Bolivar.

He suffered the calf injury in his third start with the Red Sox. The Canuck lefty had allowed just two runs in six innings to the Kansas City Royals and picked up his ninth win of the campaign in his previous start on August 5.

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 his 19 starts with 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 73-41 record and a 3.77 ERA in 177 starts.

Brewers call up Black again

The Milwaukee Brewers called up Tyler Black (Stouffville, Ont.) on Monday.

It’s the third time the Canadian infielder has been promoted this season.

In 13 big league games with the Brewers in 2024, he is 8-for-37 (.216 batting average) with two doubles, three stolen bases and four walks.

With the triple-A Nashville Sounds this season, Black owns a .389 on-base percentage (OBP) with 11 home runs and 16 stolen bases in 80 games.

The 23-year-old infielder split 2023 between the double-A Biloxi Shuckers and the triple-A Sounds, batting a combined .284 with a .417 OBP in 123 games. The Toronto Mets and Butler Prospects alum had 25 doubles, 12 triples, 18 home runs, 73 RBIs, 105 runs and 55 stolen bases.

Selected 33rd overall by the Brewers in the 2021 MLB draft out of Wright State University, Black, who’s the son of legendary Canadian sports broadcaster Rod Black, is in his fourth season in the Brewers’ organization.

Naylor registers 500th MLB hit

When Josh Naylor (Mississauga, Ont.) singled in the fourth inning of the Cleveland Guardians’ 5-3 win over the Minnesota Twins at Target Field on Sunday, he became the 26th Canadian player to record 500 hits in the big leagues, according to the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame.

Larry Walker (Maple Ridge, B.C.) holds the record for most hits by a Canadian with 2,160.

Naylor added two more hits on Monday and now has 502, which leaves him five shy of Doc Miller (Chatham, Ont.) for 25th on the all-time list.

This season, Naylor has also set a career-high in home runs with 26 and is on pace to surpass his personal-best in RBIs (which is 97 in 2023).

For his efforts, he was selected to his first MLB All-Star Game.

The reigning Tip O’Neill Award winner, as top Canadian player, is in his sixth big league season.

After honing his skills with the Ontario Blue Jays and Junior National Team, Naylor was selected 12th overall by the Miami Marlins in the 2015 MLB draft. Following tenures in the Marlins and San Diego Padres organizations, he was traded to the Guardians, along with Cal Quantrill (Port Hope, Ont.), on August 31, 2020.