Mariners: Hope for James Paxton
By Ben Renner
With Mariners’ ace Felix Hernandez on the Disabled List, James Paxton didn’t fare well as a replacement. But there’s still hope for the lefty.
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The Mariners will give starter James Paxton another chance after allowing eight runs (only three earned) on 10 hits against the San Diego Padres on Wednesday, and that’s not necessarily a bad thing.
Forgotten in the haze of historic stats from the Mariners’ 16-13 victory over the Padres last night is that for the second straight game, a Mariners’ starter was hammered. This isn’t the first time that the Mariners have strung together bad starts. They were hit hard all three games during the Minnesota Twins’ sweep in Safeco Field last week as well.
The pitching staff has mostly survived on good work from the bullpen, which has helped even out a starter’s ERA that is creeping above four. Paxton’s start didn’t help things, but his velocity has increased by 2.4 MPH from 2015, the best improvement from last year in the majors.
The point is, the jury is still out on Paxton for this season. He has pitched effectively when healthy in the past, and despite getting bumped from the rotation to start the year, he’s still a quality, hard-throwing, left-handed arm–a good player to have in the organization.
Felix Hernandez injured his calf celebrating some damn run support. Can’t say I don’t blame him for getting excited for that. The injury is minor, however, and he should return to action after his minimum of 15 days has been spent on the DL. That would make him eligible to return on June 12th, which means that Paxton’s stay could be short. If Paxton impresses in his next start(s), look for him to return to replace another struggling or injured starter (it’s gonna happen) along the way.
For Felix, this is his first DL stint since 2008. Celebrating a home run. Sigh.