MLB trade rumors: Why Mariners’ James Paxton is attractive option for Yankees

by Felix Pantaleón

New York Yankees general manager Brian Cashman is shopping for starting pitching. The Seattle Mariners are thinking about trading left-hander James Paxton. Is there a deal to be made for the 30-year-old southpaw, who owns a career ERA of 3.24 and made a career-high 28 starts in 2018?

Yahoo sports’ Jeff Passan got the MLB hot stove buzzing last week when he reported the Mariners are willing to trade starting pitcher James Paxton.

Yankees general manager Brian Cashman has gone on the record as saying he wants to upgrade his starting rotation for 2019.

So it’s not hard to imagine Cashman making a call to see if he can pluck the left-hander from Seattle.

TJ Cotterill of the Tacoma News Tribune explains why Paxton is a hot commodity:

(Paxton) turned 30 a week ago. He has two years of club control remaining, but Scott Boras clients such as Paxton are noted for rarely signing contract extensions – and he’s projected to make $9 million in arbitration next season.

In a market that is weak on starting pitchers, Paxton becomes one of the most coveted starting targets because he comes with two years and doesn’t come with a free-agent price tag.

Paxton’s strikeouts-per-nine-innings rate of 11.7 this past season was the fourth-highest among starters in MLB, just behind Gerrit Cole (12.4), Max Scherzer (12.2) and Justin Verlander (12.2).

That’s why Paxton’s been linked most to contenders so far. That $9 million Paxton will likely make in arbitration is a sizeable chunk for the Mariners, but he’d be a big bargain for teams like the Astros and Yankees looking at the free-agent market, where pitchers like (Patrick) Corbin and (Dallas) Keuchel are going to get multi-year contracts in the realm of $18 million per year.

1 offseason priority for every Yankee

According to Spotrac, Paxton is arbitration eligible in 2019 and 2020. The left-hander owns a career ERA of 3.42 and he made a career-high 28 starts in 2018.

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