James Paxton suffered a proper calf pressure within the first inning of his begin at this time towards the Astros, forcing the veteran left-hander from the mound. Paxton’s fifth pitch of the sport acquired Yordan Alvarez to floor to first baseman Dominic Smith, however Paxton got here up limping when leaving the mound to cowl first base.
Talking to 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 entry 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 likely to linger. Additionally it is attainable the Purple Sox might shut Paxton down for the season if the crew falls out of the postseason race — at this time’s 10-2 loss dropped the Sox three video games again of a wild card berth, and prolonged Boston’s shedding 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 prior 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 Purple Sox throughout that 2023 season, earlier than signing a one-year, $7MM cope with the Dodgers final winter. Since Paxton stayed wholesome and has made 21 begins (and thrown 100 1/3 innings) in complete this season, he earned an additional $6MM 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 good 4.43 ERA in his 89 1/3 innings as a Dodger. His Statcast numbers, nonetheless, had been a lot much less spectacular, and at this time’s harm additionally underlines no matter considerations 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 seems to be just like the Purple 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 could possibly be referred to as up from Triple-A, or Brad Keller could possibly be stretched out to work in piggyback scenario, or as a bulk pitcher behind an opener. Cooper Criswell will miss at the very least the remainder of the following week as a consequence 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 supply further relaxation.
