James Paxton

New York Yankees: James Paxton’s MRI results are ready, as the lefty is set to miss time

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New York Yankees, James Paxton

The New York Yankees‘ bad luck with injuries simply cannot be explained. Left-handed starting pitcher James Paxton was cruising in his last start against the Tampa Bay Rays, but allowed three runs in the fifth inning and departed shortly after battling with walks (he handed four.)

As it turns out, he felt discomfort in his left arm and was sent for an MRI. The results showed that his ulnar collateral ligament is intact, which is excellent news for his prospects of avoiding Tommy John surgery, but he is dealing with a flexor strain.

Flexor strains are multi-week injuries, so the ailment has the potential to end the New York Yankees’ lefty season prematurely. For now, no such scenario has been discussed, but he is looking at multiple weeks on the mend at the very least.

The Yankees need a starter

The information of the diagnosis was reported by MLB Network’s Jon Heyman. Paxton was slated to be the Yankees’ second starter behind Gerrit Cole, but since his first start of the season he showed diminished velocity, and the results suffered.

Last season, an average fastball from Paxton traveled at 95 miles per hour. To start the season, it barely touched 92.

The situation became to improve progressively through the season, but his velo never got back to normal.

The 2020 season has been a difficult one for Paxton, who is currently 1.1 with a 6.64 ERA in five starts and 20.1 innings. He has 26 strikeouts, but they have come with an ugly 1.48 WHIP.

For now, the Yankees are left scrambling for another starter. Candidates to fill in for Paxton in the rotation are Jonathan Loaisiga, Mike King and Clarke Schmidt. The team could also opt to pursue a starter in the trade market, although it is unclear whether they will choose to go that route having several internal candidates.

The Yankees should go after Trevor Bauer

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The New York Yankees are looking into Cleveland Indians pitcher, Trevor Bauer.

When it comes to the New York Yankees, fans have been complaining about the same thing since they last won a World Series in 2009. The knock on the team has been the lack of reliable starting pitching.

The Yankees did their best to correct that when they signed Gerrit Cole, arguably the best pitcher in baseball, in the off season. However, this season has proved that signing Cole was still not enough.

Granted, the Yankees are currently missing Domingo German (Suspension) and Luis Severino (Tommy John), but they do not have the pitching right now to win a World Series. Can you really depend on Masahiro Tanaka? What about Paxton? Well the Yankees might have just lost him too.

Earlier this year, I wrote about the extension debate between Paxton and Tanaka. I wanted the Yankees to resign Paxton, but it’s clear that wasn’t a good idea. Now, I think they should let both men walk after this year.

The Yankees need a Bauer Outage

There is one guy that I believe could not only fix the issues for the rest of this season, but he could be the missing piece to a dynasty moving forward. That player is Reds starting pitcher, Trevor Bauer.

Bauer is off to an incredible start this year at 3-0 with a 0.68 ERA and a WHIP of 0.570. Those are just silly numbers through his first four starts. Imagine if the Yankees were to go out right now and make a deal with the Reds for Bauer?

I know many people are going to point to the past issues with Gerrit Cole and his temperament, but I think at the end of the day, Bauer wants to compete for championships.

He’s a competitor just like the Yankees ace, Cole. I believe that the two are adult enough to set aside their differences. Also, I think he would thrive in a competitive environment like New York.

Moving forward, the Yankees have Gerrit Cole, Luis Severino, Jordan Montgomery, Clarke Schmidt, and Domingo German. Assuming Clarke pans out, that’s a pretty good rotation, but they need one more bonafide stud at the top.

While Severino definitely has the potential to be that guy, he’s had a difficult time staying healthy. Trevor Bauer is a guy who could fix a lot of issues for the Yankees. If I’m Brian Cashman, I’m calling the Reds now to try to make a deal. It would take a lot, but if it brings you one World Series and potentially more, it’s all worth it.

Yankees lefty starter feeling ‘discomfort’ in elbow, bad injury news incoming

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New York Yankees, James Paxton

According to Bryan Hoch of MLB.com, New York Yankees left-hander James Paxton is having an MRI on his elbow after his Thursday afternoon start against the rival Tampa Bay Rays at Yankee Stadium.

After tossing four shutout innings, Paxton surrendered three earned runs in the fifth inning and was removed from the game thereafter. The Yankees lost 10-5, capping off a three-game sweep for the Rays. The Yankees are now 6-1 against the Rays this season, falling to second place in the American League East.

Across his five starts this season (20.1 innings), Paxton has recorded a 6.64 ERA, a 1.48 WHIP and 26 strikeouts while opponents hit .284 against his offerings. Last season the Big Maple made 29 starts (150.2 innings) for the Yankees, recording a 3.82 ERA, a 1.28 WHIP and 186 strikeouts while opponents hit .242 against his offerings.

Paxton underwent back surgery in March. He has missed extensive time over his big-league career due to said injury, as well as knee and shoulder discomfort.

Paxton missing a start and/or hitting the injured list vacates a spot in manager Aaron Boone’s starting rotation. Candidates to fill the void include Jonathan Loaisiga, Michael King and Clarke Schmidt. Another option is going with a bullpen day every fifth game. Gerrit Cole, Masahiro Tanaka, Jordan Montgomery and J.A. Happ fill the other rotation spots.

Infielder Gleyber Torres was removed from Thursday’s game with a tight left hamstring.

Thursday morning the Yankees placed left-handed reliever Zack Britton on the injured list with a left hamstring strain. Meanwhile, they optioned Miguel Andujar, subsequently recalling right-handed pitchers Ben Heller and Miguel Yajure.

Outfielders Aaron Judge (right calf strain) and Giancarlo Stanton (hamstring), infielder DJ LeMahieu (left thumb) and catcher Kyle Higashioka (right oblique strain) are all serving time on the injured list.

The Yankees are 16-9. They begin a three-game series with the New York Mets on Friday at Citi Field.

New York Yankees Previews: Yankees will try to Eke out a win over the Rays in matinee

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New York Yankees, James Paxton

For the New York Yankees, today’s 1:05 pm matinee will be the last chance for the Yankees to get a win in the three-game series with the Rays. The Yankees lost the first two games of that series at Yankee Stadium, and that was after losing three of four games to the Rays at Tropicana Field earlier.

For the first time, this season the Yankees are facing a team that could ultimately unseat them as the odds on favorites to win the East Division. The Yankees for the most part have dominated the teams they have faced but hit a wall when facing the Tampa Bay Rays.  Last night the Rays again took the game from the Yankees, with the Yankee’s ace Gerrit Cole on the mound. Cole won his first five starts but even he couldn’t solve the Rays lineup.

Add to that, the New York Yankee lineup has been very quiet in the series except for a few home runs.  It has to be noted that the Yankees are playing without three key players. Giancarlo Stanton (hamstring), Aaron Judge (calf), and the “Machine”, DJ LeMahieu (thumb).  The only one of them that is close to returning is Aaron Judge, that may be back on the weekend.

Today’s matinee at the Stadium against the Rays will be played on one of the nicest days of the year.  The game-time temperature will be about 78 degrees with low humidity.  The game will be played under bright sunny skies with a light southwest breeze.  It will be televised on the YES Network, FoxSport Sun, and on the MLB Network (out of market).

Tonight, the Yankees will send out James Paxton to tackle the Rays hitters. He will be facing the Ray’s, John Curtiss.  Curtiss will serve as an opener, only going an inning or two.  The bulk of the pitching is projected to be by Trevor Richards.

James Paxton is coming off the best game of his season. He won an 11-5 game off the Red Sox at the Stadium. The main difference between his last game and his first two games is that he got his fastball up to just shy of 95 mph.  Paxton had back surgery back in February.  The late start of the season allowed him to be ready to play when the season finally started, but in his first few outings, his fastball velocity was down several miles per hour.  The fact that he got it up 94.8 mph in his last game, is a good sign that he is regaining his strength.

The Yankees will face John Curtiss who will open the game for the Rays.  Curtiss has pitched three games this season, he went an inning or more in all three of those games. Trevor Richards is likely to pitch most of the game.  The righty Richards, although 10-21 in his three years with the Rays, he had a good year, last season going 3-0 with an ERA of 1.93 in his three starts and four games in relief.

The Yankees after the game today, will prepare to meet the New York Mets for a three-game series at the crosstown Citi Field, before again meeting the Tampa Bay Rays, again at the Stadium.

New York Yankees Previews: Nathan Eovaldi and James Paxton duel it out, tonight at the Stadium

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New York Yankees, James Paxton

If there is a game the New York Yankees might lose in the four-game Red Sox series at Yankee Stadium, it’s tonight’s matchup between the Yankee’s James Paxton and the Red Sox’s Nathan Eovaldi.  The ex-Yankee Eovaldi and Paxton when on, can both be lights out.

The game tonight at 7:07 pm at the stadium will be played under mostly cloudy skies and with a game-time temperature in the upper ’70s with low humidity. It should be a nice night for baseball with only a slight chance of a shower.  The game will be nationally televised on the Fox Network.

The New York Yankees are coming off of a lashing of the Red Sox, a game last night that they won 10-3 off of Gerrit Cole’s pitching gem.  The Yankees came alive with a combination of the long ball of Gary Sanchez and the small ball play of most everyone else.  In a good sign of things to come, the slow start of last year’s home run leader, Gleyber Torres came to an end, with him going 4 for 4 in the game.

Tonight James Paxton will take the mound for the Yankees. Paxton when he is on can easily handle the Red Sox, but this season he has been inconsistent, to say the least.  In his first two outings, he went a total of only four innings with an ERA of 20.00. But Paxton is coming off an impressive game against the Tampa Bay Rays when struck out 11 Rays in 6.1 innings in a no-decision game. Hopefully, that game signaled a return to form for the “Big Maple” as his fastball which had been lacking, touched 94 mph. Paxton’s last season was 15-6 with an ERA of 3.82. In a recent interview pitching coach, Matt Blake cited that Paxton was still coming back from back surgery, and said that he can see Paxton’s fastball returning to 96 to 99 mph.

The New York Yankees will face ex-Yankee Nathan Eovaldi. Eovaldi has always pitched well at Yankee Stadium, he has a 10-5 record in the Bronx. Eovaldi is 1-1 with an ERA of 3.09. Two games that the Red Sox won with him on the mound were against the lowly Baltimore Orioles and the equally poor New York Mets.  He lost his outing with the Rays but pitched impressively in his last outing against the Toronto Blue Jays. In that game, he walked no one and struck out 10 Jays in six innings of work.

The New York Yankees, tonight will again start the game without the services of the smash brothers, Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton, who are both, again on the IL.  But the Yankees have the talented lineup to get the job done, without the two.  Mike Tauchman has been a strong player in the absence of Stanton, and recently recalled Clint Frazier has shown that he can fill in for Aaron Judge.

Tomorrow evening the Yankees will again face the Red Sox at the Stadium. J.A. Happ is presently scheduled to take the mound for the Yankees facing a yet to be announced Red Sox pitcher. That game will be another nationally televised game, this one on ESPN.

Yankees 5-4

EmpireSportsMedia.com’s Columnist William Parlee is a member of the Society for American Baseball Research.  Follow me on Twitter @parleewilliam

New York Yankees: Paxton pitches well, but still lacks velocity

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New York Yankees, James Paxton

Although the New York Yankees lost the series finale against the Tampa Bay Rays on Sunday, James Paxton pitched his first good game of the season. However, Paxton still lacked the velocity of previous seasons but his performance was encouraging.

The second-year Yankee pitched 6 and 1/3 innings, allowing four hits and three runs. He rang up 11 while walking just one.

Paxton may not be the one to blame about the three runs on his line. That could be on Aaron Boone, who may have left Paxton in for too long.

The lefty allowed a leadoff double in the seventh inning to Jose Martinez, before getting Hunter Renfroe to pop-up. Then, Paxton served up back-to-back home runs to Michael Brosseau and Brandon Lowe to make a 3-0 lead quickly turn into a 3-3 tie. Boone would pull Paxton after the two bombs, but it seems like the leash was a bit too long on Paxton.

The fastball was the best that we’ve seen from Paxton this season, but it still isn’t what it used to be. He mainly sat around 92-93 mph but did touch 94 mph. He normally sits around 95-97 mph, but Sunday was at least an improvement from last time out.

It’s hard to tell what exactly is going on with Paxton, but him and Boone both claim that he is fully healthy. Sunday was definitely encouraging, and the Yankees hope that his velocity will continue to climb over time.

After an off-day on Monday, the Yankees begin a nine game homestead beginning with the Atlanta Braves on Tuesday. They play two with the Braves before another off-day, then four games against the Red Sox and three more against the Rays.

New York Yankees Recap: Paxton pitches a Gem through 6, but Yankees lose series

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New York Yankees, James Paxton

The New York Yankees lost their first series of the season this afternoon in Tampa.  The Yankees won their series with the Nationals, swept the Orioles, swept the Red Sox, then split the series with the Phillies and now have lost this series with the Tampa Bay Rays 3 games to 1.

This loss was heartbreaking for James Paxton, who has not pitched well this season in his first two starts.  But today a new James Paxton showed up to pitch game 4 of the Ray’s series.  He pitched with confidence and his fastball was working.  He pitched 6.1 innings using only 77 pitches while striking out eleven.

Two bad pitches in the seventh inning spoiled his scoreless outing. With one on in the seventh, he allowed a two-run homer followed by a Brandon Lowe homer to tied the score at 3.  Unlike in this first two outings, he had control over his fastball that was between 92 and 93 mph and touched 94 a couple of times.  When he left the game he was visibly upset.

The New York Yankees scored first when they loaded the bases in the first inning and a hit by pitch brought in a run for the 1-0 lead in the game.   With two on at the fifth innings, Gio Urshela has a long sac fly driving in both runs for the 3-0 Yankee lead. Then in the sixth Paxton gave up the three runs for a tie score.

The tied score lasted into the bottom of the ninth inning when fans began to think about the man on 2nd rule.  But that was not to be had when Zack Britton couldn’t hold down the Rays.  At the bottom of the eighth, a spectacular double play kept the Yankees tied.

Although the Yankee tried at the top of the ninth they failed to score.  In the bottom of the ninth Britton gave up a single to Perez that scored Brandon Lowe from third base for the Ray’s 4-3 win. Ryan Thompson got the win and Zack Britton took the loss.

 

 

New York Yankees Previews: Paxton faces Morton as Yanks try to even the series

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New York Yankees, James Paxton

The New York Yankees have been in a bit of a downturn during the past week.  In their last six starts, they are 2-4. This weekend the Yankees have lost two games against the Tampa Bay Rays.  This afternoon at 1:10 pm, they will try to even up the series at two games apiece before moving on to Yankee Stadium and two games starting on Tuesday against the Atlanta Braves.

The game today will be at Tropicana Field, a domed stadium in St. Petersburg, Florida.  Many consider the aging stadium as one of the worst parks in all of baseball. It does have it’s pluses everyone knows about the stingray touch tank, but what many don’t know, is that it is a mini Cooperstown with historical baseball exhibits throughout the stadium.  The big plus is that the weather is never an issue in this air-conditioned dome. The 1:10 pm game will be broadcast on the YES Network and Fox Sun.

Today the Tampa Bay Ray will send one of their best pitchers out to face the Yankees.  Charlie Morton of Astros’ fame will face the Yankees James Paxton. Morton is a twelve-year veteran pitcher that has pitched with many teams.  Most notably with the Houston Astros during 2017 and 2018.  Last year for the Ray he went 16-5 with an ERA of 3.05.  In his last three years, he has gone 45-15.

This year he is 1-1 in three games started.  He has had a bit of trouble with the velocity of his four-seam fastball. It did improve in his last outing against the Boston Red Sox.  He will have to watch out for DJ LeMahieu (.389) and Brett Gardner (.333), both having faced him twelve or more times.

The New York Yankees will start James Paxton in his first two starts of the season has gone only 1 and 3 innings respectively, while giving up six earned runs.  Paxton’s main problem seems to be his fastball that is coming in about four miles per hour slower this year than last.  There is a big difference when a major leaguer faces a 95 mph fastball, and a lesser one at 91.  His ERA this year sits at 13.50.

The reason for Paxton’s reduced velocity is of concern to Paxton, although he and pitching coach Matt Blake cannot find the reason for it.  Paxton underwent back surgery earlier this year, but he feels he has completely recovered from that injury. Paxton is the Yankees number two starter and they need to get him right. The Yankees tonight will hope that Pax, the “Big Maple” can get his first win of the season.

If the Yankees put out their best “A” lineup today, it will not include Giancarlo Stanton that suffered a hamstring injury in game 2 of yesterday’s doubleheader, a definite disadvantage for the Yankees. The loss of Stanton is substantial as he has hit three home runs and had an OPS of 1.036.

 

New York Yankees Analysis: What’s wrong with the Yankees starting pitching? find out here

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New York Yankees, J.A. Happ

The New York Yankees during the offseason signed pitching ace Gerrit Cole for the largest pitching contract ever.  That investment has paid off so far in this short 2020 baseball season, with Cole winning all three of his starts.  But, outside of Cole, the New York Yankees starting pitching as best could be called lacking, and at the worst, miserable.  The only reason that the Yankees are 9-3 is because of the powerful bats in the lineup that hit two home runs per game.

The biggest problem the Yankees are experiencing, so far, this season with the rotation is J.A. Happ and James Paxton, both having pitched terribly in both of their starts.  Before you say wait, it’s early in the season, this is a 60 game season and the Yankees can’t wait very long for these pitchers to kick in.

In all four of these pitcher’s starts the New York Yankees have only gotten eleven innings of starting pitching from them, putting additional stress and dependency on the Yankee bullpen.  Happ struggled Wednesday against the Phillies and was taken out of the game after three innings. He’d issued six walks in a four-run effort, requiring 66 pitches to get those nine outs. This is the second outing that he hasn’t gone past the third inning.

“I thought I made some pitches and kind of didn’t get the benefit of the doubt, then wasn’t able to get back in the zone with some other ones,” Happ said after the 11-7 loss in the first game of the doubleheader. “But six walks, obviously, that was the story.”

Paxton has not looked like himself during his two outings. He said at the end of the training camp that he was working on mechanical adjustments, but his velocity has sat around 92 mph (about 4 mph less than he averaged in 2019). His swing-and-miss rate hovered at about 30 percent last year but has been at 22.6 percent in his four innings this season.  The difference in a fastball that barrels in at 96 mph and one that lobs in there at 92 mph is huge.

Paxton in the offseason had back surgery, which he says he has completely recovered from, and that he has no injury issues.  If that’s the case why the drop off in velocity, that is so dramatic from last year.  Manager Aaron Boone has had this to say about Paxton:

“I feel like he’s healthy,” Boone said. “We do feel like physically he’s sound with all the behind-the-scenes tests we do as far as measuring strength and output. It’s very similar to what it’s been his entire career. He feels good.”

The predictions on Masahiro Tanaka and Jordan Montgomery are still undetermined.  Tanaka after having a delayed start due to getting hit in the head, last Saturday allowed two runs (one earned) on four hits and one walk over 2.2 innings during last Saturday’s 5-2 win over Boston. He struck out three and did not factor into the decision.  Tonight he will have his second start of the season against the Tampa Bay Rays.

Jordan Montgomery in his first start of the season on Opening Day at Yankee Stadium, although shaky, he went 5.2 innings in the Yankee win over the Red Sox.  His ERA in the game was a tiny 1.59. Fast forward to his second start of the season last night against the Phillies, Monty gave up three runs in the first inning in the Yankee loss.  He gave up another two runs in the fourth inning for an ERA of 11.25.

Again, the Yankee’s biggest problem is Happ and Paxton, with no answers seemingly forthcoming.  Both of these pitchers if right can be dominant. Maybe the answer to Happ and Paxton will come in the name of Michael King and Clarke Schmidt, both of which have been highly praised in both spring training and summer camp.  It all depends on how long manager Boone wants to keep putting Happ and Paxton out there.  There are less than two months remaining in this short season.  The Yankees cannot afford to lose games. Another loss by either of these pitchers could cause them to be knocked into the bullpen, or even sent to the alternate site in Scranton.

Meanwhile, the bright pitching spot, other than Cole, has been the excellent pitching of the bullpen.  Although most everyone in the bullpens has pitched excellently.  There are two standouts, those being Chad Green and the other Zack Britton.  Green in relief has pitched in five games for eight innings, all scoreless while striking out 11 for a 1-0 record.  Britton in Chapman’s absence has saved all five of his opportunities.

The New York Yankees if wanting to get to the postseason and beyond must solve the Happ Paxton problem, either by having Matt Blake resolve their issues or by replacing them.

EmpireSportsMedia.com’s Columnist William Parlee is a member of the Society for American Baseball Research.  Follow me on Twitter @parleewilliam.

New York Yankees: Looking into James Paxton’s early season struggles

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New York Yankees, James Paxton

Despite having a great start to the season as a team, New York Yankees‘ left-handed pitcher James Paxton hasn’t found himself on the mound yet. In two starts throwing only four total innings, Paxton has allowed six earned runs on 12 hits. Paxton had an extremely successful season last year where he finished with a 15-6 record and was one of the most reliable starters in the rotation for the Yankees. With Luis Severino injured and Domingo German not returning this year, it’s concerning that Paxton hasn’t performed well yet.

Comparing to last year

I looked at Paxton’s delivery last year compared to last night’s outing and there are distinct differences.

Last season, Paxton was finishing downhill with loose arm action and was using his body excellently. Last night, it seemed as if Paxton was stiff while moving towards the plate. It looked like he was relying on his arm rather than his body. This could explain why Paxton’s velocity has been significantly down. He’s usually sitting 96 MPH and can run it up to 98 MPH, however, his last two outings he has been 90-92 MPH.

Offseason injury

Last offseason, Paxton had surgery completed on his back. He rehabbed successfully and has been at 100% for months now. However, watching his last two starts has me thinking otherwise. Analyzing his mechanics from this year to last year, it looks like Paxton may not be back to 100% yet. It’s possible that the reason why he doesn’t have that “whip” is that he’s still coming back from that surgery.

Hopefully, Paxton’s early struggles are simply a mechanical thing that can be fixed easily. It’s very possible that’s the case since sometimes pitchers can get away from their mechanics especially after a long layoff. I wouldn’t give up on Paxton though, as we saw a similar trend last season. Paxton was OK during the first half of the season and was dominant in the second half. He may just be figuring things out still.