BOSTON — What’s next for Red Sox pitcher James Paxton after his dominant rehab start Sunday? A few different scenarios exist.
The lefty could make another rehab start. He could join the Red Sox starting rotation immediately. He could join the Boston bullpen as a multi-inning reliever.
“We haven’t sat down with him to see what is next,” manager Alex Cora said at Fenway Park on Monday. “So we’ll probably know more later on.”
The 34-year-old tossed 5 ⅓ scoreless innings in his fifth rehab outing (fourth rehab start) for Triple-A Worcester on Sunday. He allowed two hits and one walk while striking out eight.
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“Stuff-wise, delivery-wise, pretty solid,” Cora said.
Cora was asked if he has ruled out Paxton pitching out of the bullpen.
“We’ll talk about it today,” Cora replied.
All 137 of Paxton’s outings as a major leaguer have come as a starting pitcher.
“That’s what I’m comfortable doing,” Paxton said. “I feel like I can contribute best as a starter.”
Paxton mixes a mid-90s four-seam fastball with a curveball, cutter and changeup.
“I think the velo’s there. The stuff is there. Just tweaking some breaking balls,” Paxton said. “I think I’m really close.”
Paxton has pitched fewer innings than Chris Sale since the beginning of the 2020 season. He has made just six starts (21 ⅔ innings). He hasn’t pitched in a major league game since April 6, 2021.
Sale has had difficulty repeating his mechanics after making just 17 regular season starts from 2020-22, leading to some command issues early in the season. It’s something to also watch with Paxton when he returns to the big leagues.
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“It’s getting there,” he said about repeating his delivery. “Yesterday, I made that little tweak with the mechanics and still getting consistency with it but it was a lot better yesterday. In and around the zone a lot more. So it was good.”
He said he made the tweak after reviewing video.
“It just helped me keep my direction better going towards the plate,” Paxton said.