The Boston Red Sox starting rotation was supposed to be a strength of the team in 2022. Instead, it has arguably been the team's biggest weakness. A big part of that has been injuries. Chris Sale has missed almost the entire season. Nathan Eovaldi has spent time on the injured list. Michael Wacha, who has having an amazingly resurgent year, has been on the injured list for a month now. But the forgotten piece has been James Paxton.
Paxton has also been out all season after having Tommy John surgery in April of 2021. He finally began throwing again in June. But on Friday, he took the biggest step forward toward a return yet.
Can confirm this – Paxton was up to 95 while throwing his entire pitch mix in Fort Myers. This is his 2nd simulated game against hitters in recent days as Paxton progresses towards a rehab assignment in his return from Tommy John surgery. https://t.co/xjfHVndOvD
— Alex Speier (@alexspeier) August 5, 2022
The big Red Sox lefty threw his second simulated game Friday. During the session, his fastball hit up to 95 miles per hour. The fact that his fastball reached 95 mph is notable. He has always been a hard-throwing lefty. This is a great sign that he is progressing toward an eventual rehab appearance.
If the Red Sox can put together a win streak, or just keep hanging around in the American League wild card race, Paxton could end up making a difference in September.
Wacha threw 4 2/3 innings of no-hit baseball in a rehab start for Triple-A Worcester on Thursday. He might make his return to the Boston rotation next week.
The Red Sox are currently 4.5 games behind the Seattle Mariners for the second wild card spot. However, there are also four teams in between them.
The Red Sox surprised a lot of people when they did not trade J.D. Martinez at the deadline. Instead they traded for Eric Hosmer and Tommy Pham. So, they have shown they are not throwing in the towel. If the Red Sox rotation can get healthy, they have enough talent to make some noise.
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