The Los Angeles Dodgers designated starting pitcher James Paxton for assignment on Monday, FanSided's Robert Murray first reported.
The move cuts Paxton from the 40-man roster, making room for the organization's No. 4 prospect, River Ryan, to make his Major League debut.
It's a surprising move for Los Angeles, though Paxton has struggled lately. Over his past four starts, Paxton had an 8.66 ERA with 12 walks in 17.2 innings pitched. Before that, however, he had pitched to a 3.39 ERA over his first 14 starts, and the Dodgers are 14-4 overall in his games.
But that only tells part of the story. He is both striking out fewer and walking more batters than he has at any point in his career. His opponents' .269 average on balls in play combined with a 43.5% hard hit rate also demonstrate he's gotten a little lucky.
“Yeah, I came into the season thinking that the velocity would come, but it hasn’t really come as much as I thought it would,” Paxton said, per Dodger Blue. “So I think I’m just evolving as a pitcher, my stuff isn’t what it used to be, but I’m pitching differently, pitching to weak contact and still trying to give us a chance to win.”
After his most recent start, a five-inning, three-run performance against the Red Sox with seven strikeouts, he summed up his season and the mystery around it.
“I really don’t know what to expect when I take the ball out there,” he said, per MLB.com. “I’m out there giving everything I’ve got, and some days I have more than others. I think that’s kind of where the inconsistency is coming from.”
Paxton is on a one-year deal with the Dodgers worth $7 million. That makes it possible for LA to work out a trade for him before the July 30 MLB trade deadline.
James Paxton gave the Dodgers starting pitching depth
More than his numbers, Paxton's consistent presence adds to the surprise of the move. Injuries have ravaged the Dodgers' starting rotation with Tyler Glasnow, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Walker Buehler, Clayton Kershaw, and Dustin May all on the Injured List.
With Glasnow and Kershaw both expected back in the next few days, a best-case scenario for the Dodgers may ultimately leave Paxton out in the cold anyway. But that's also assuming Yamamoto and Buehler return this season, and neither seems close.
Paxton's health and relative effectiveness should both land him a new job soon as contending teams scramble to add those last missing pieces for a playoff push.
Now without Paxton, the Dodgers will turn to Ryan, at least in the immediate term. The San Diego Padres originally drafted Ryan as an infielder in 2021 with the Dodgers trading for him and converting him to a pitcher the next year. He has started eight games this season between Rookie ball and Triple-A, compiling a 2.22 ERA in 24.1 innings with 32 strikeouts.
MLB Pipeline touts him as a fastball pitcher who can hit 99 mph with plus breaking pitches. Before the season, MLB projected him as a future 2 or 3 starter in the majors, but that was before his meteoric rise through the minors.
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