MLB
In a move that should shock no one, James Paxton has been traded to the New York Yankees. In exchange, the Mariners receive Yankees’ top prospect LHP Justus Sheffield, along with RHP Erik Swanson and CF Dom Thompson-Williams.
Heading to New York
James Paxton, 30, has spent his entire 5-year career in Seattle. He grew up in Ladner, BC, as a Mariners fan. Nicknamed Big Maple, the 6’4” lefty threw a no-hitter on May 8 in his home and native land against Canada’s only team, the Toronto Blue Jays. Pax became the first Canadian since 1945 to throw a no-hitter. For his career, Paxton is 41-26 with a 3.24 ERA in 102 starts. He was mostly dominant in 2018. In the start before his no-hitter, he had a 16 strikeout game. On the season he was 11-6 with a 3.76 ERA and 208 strikeouts in 160.1 IP. The second half of the season got a little shaky, and no one was ever really sure which Pax was gonna show up for the game. But he’s still a pitcher who makes hitters nervous, and when he’s on he’s on. The Yankees have definitely made it clear that pitching is important to them. Paxton is eligible for free agency following the 2020 season.
Heading to Seattle
In exchange for ace James Paxton, the Mariners received three prospects, including the Yankee organizations’ top prospect. Justus Sheffield appeared in 3 games for the Yankees in September, pitching 2.2 innings total. His ERA was 10.13 in these games, against Boston and Tampa Bay. The Mariners also receive RHP Erik Swanson and CF Dom Thompson-Williams.
The Future
This is a smart move on the part of the Mariners. As a Mariners fan, I (and many others) have long been concerned with the future of the organization. It has been 17 loooooooong years since the Mariners’ last playoff appearance, and the future looks just as bleak. It seems that no matter what the front office does, the Mariners always fall just short (or very, very short). Bring in Jean Segura and Mitch Haniger? Not enough. Dee Gordon? Not enough. Their core (Kyle Seager, Robinson Cano and Nelson Cruz) is getting older. Cruz is a free agent. And their farm system? Basically non-existent. After the trade 10 days ago with Tampa, they are without a reliable catcher because there isn’t one in the system. There’s nothing in the system. Until now, maybe. Let’s hope that things improve from here.
As a Seattle fan, this trade makes me sad, Pax leaving. As a Toronto fan, this trade makes me furious because I hate the Yankees, and they already took one lefty I loved. I guess the silver lining is that the Yankees come to Toronto more often than the Mariners so at least I *hopefully* won’t have to wait until the end of August to see him pitch again.
Written by Susannah Schmidt
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Photo credit to Frank Fujimoto via Flickr
