After a mediocre two-year run with the New York Yankees, James Paxton is returning home to his former team. According to reports, the Seattle Mariners have agreed to a one-year, $8.5 million deal. Chad Dey of Sportsnet 650 first broke the news on Saturday night before Ken Rosenthal and Jeff Passan confirmed the story.
Source confirms: Free-agent left-hander James Paxton in agreement with Mariners. First: @chad_dey.
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) February 14, 2021
James Paxton returns home to the Seattle Mariners
Paxton, otherwise known by his nickname “Big Maple,” should be eager to head back to his former team. The 32-year-old spent the first six years of his big league career in Seattle. In that span, Paxton notched enough solid performances to be considered one of the most sought after left-handed starters in the game.
During this six-year run, Paxton pitched to a 3.42 ERA including 41 wins in 102 starts. The highlight of Paxton’s time in Seattle featured a 99-pitch no-hitter against the Toronto Blue Jays back in 2018. At the time, the tall left-hander primarily featured a mid-to-upper-90’s heater and a devastating knuckle-curve. He also pitched to a 1.098 WHIP while striking out nearly 12 batters per nine innings in 2018.
Back in 2018, the Yankees were in desperate need of an ace arm in their rotation. CC Sabathia was near the end of his career while Masahiro Tanaka and Luis Severino didn’t quite project as clear-cut number one starters. The Yankees traded for Paxton at the end of the 2018 campaign, giving up prospects including the highly-touted Justus Sheffield.
The New York experiment didn’t quite go as planned. Paxton’s biggest issues included injuries and the combination of the home run and walk. During his two seasons in New York, his home run ratio jumped from sub-one to nearly 1.5 per nine innings. His walk ratio also climbed nearly one point up to 3.3 per nine.
Interestingly enough, Paxton also recorded the highest strikeout ratios of his career, but perhaps relied too heavily on his fastball. The home-run launching pad that is Yankee Stadium didn’t help the situation, either.
Last offseason, the New York Yankees signed Gerrit Cole to land their lauded ace. This was followed by an injury-riddled campaign for Paxton in which he only started five games. It was quite clear the Yankees were ready to move off of Big Maple.
Still, Paxton should be relieved to find a home in Seattle once again. Not only has Paxton enjoyed his most successful MLB seasons with the Seattle Mariners, but it’s much closer to home. The Big Maple grew up near Vancouver, Canada, which sits as less than a three-hour drive from Seattle. We shouldn’t be surprised if Paxton rebounds with some success pitching so close to home.