Canadian James Paxton dealt to the Yankees
James Paxton (Ladner, B.C.) went 11-6 with a 3.76 ERA in 28 starts for the Seattle Mariners in 2018. Photo Credit: USA Today Sports
By Kevin Glew
Canadian Baseball Network
According to multiple reports, the Seattle Mariners have dealt Canadian lefty James Paxton (Ladner, B.C.) to the New York Yankees in exchange for a trio of prospects.
The Mariners will reportedly receive prized pitching prospect Justus Sheffield, 25-year-old right-hander Erik Swanson and outfielder Dom Thompson-Williams.
The 30-year-old Paxton is coming off one of his best seasons as a major leaguer. In 2018, his sixth big league campaign, he became the first Canadian pitcher to throw a major league no-hitter on Canadian soil when he held the Blue Jays hitless on May 8 at Rogers Centre. That performance came six days after he had set a Canadian record by striking out 16 batters on May 2 in a start against the Oakland A’s.
In all, Paxton had eight starts in which he struck out at least 10 batters and went 11-6 with a 3.76 ERA and fanned 208 batters in 160 1/3 innings. His 208 strikeouts are the second-most by a Canadian left-hander in a major league season and he became one of only two pitchers in big league history to notch 200 strikeouts in a season in 161 or fewer innings.
Among American League pitchers with at least 160 innings pitched, Paxton finished third in strikeouts per nine innings (11.68), fourth in strikeout-to-walk ratio (4.95), seventh in WHIP (1.10) and ninth in opponents’ batting average against (.224).
Selected in the fourth round of the 2010 draft by the Mariners, Paxton has toed the rubber for parts of six big league seasons, compiling a 41-26 and a 3.42 ERA in 102 starts.