MLB trade rumors: Yankees get James Paxton, send Justus Sheffield to Mariners | What it means

The New York Yankees and the Seattle Mariners agreed to a trade that will send starting pitcher James Paxton to the Bronx and top pitching prospect Justus Sheffield to Seattle.

The Yankees made one of the biggest splashes early into the offseason Monday.

They acquired left-handed starting pitcher James Paxton from the Seattle Mariners.

In return, the Mariners will receive a trio of prospects, with lefty pitcher Justus Sheffield — the team’s best pupil via MLB.com — as the headliner. Also heading to Seattle will be outfielder Dom Thompson-Williams and pitcher Erik Swanson.

The Yankees and Mariners each confirmed the trade in separate statements. Yahoo! Sports’ Jeff Passan first reported the deal.

What you need to know about Paxton

Who is Paxton? Paxton, 30, went 11-6 with a 3.76 ERA in 28 starts and 160 1/3 innings last year for the Mariners, who are in full tear down mode. The year before, he was excellent, posting a 2.98 ERA in 24 starts. He throws a fastball in the mid-90s and a high-80s cutter.

Why Paxton? The Yankees needed starting pitching, badly. Paxton immediately becomes the team’s No. 2 or No. 3 starter, behind ace Luis Severino and beside Masahiro Tanaka. The Yankees re-signed CC Sabathia to a one-year deal in the offseason. MLB Trade Rumors predicts Paxton will make about $9 million via salary arbitration in 2019 — or about as much money as Sonny Gray is expected to receive. 

Reason to worry? Paxon has been hurt a lot over his career. An inflammed back held him out three weeks and a line drive off his pitching forearm held him out two weeks last season. He’s been on the DL every year since 2014.

Why Sheffield? The Yankees didn’t believe Sheffield would be ready to crack the Opening Day rotation, despite his serious talent. He had command issues that plagued him until last last season, forcing the Yankees to try to use him out of the bullpen rather than give him a shot in the majors as a starter. Sheffield, however, is just 22 years old, and has a killer slider to go along with a fastball that can get into the mid-90s — the building blocks of a mid-rotation starter.

Now what?  General manager Brian Cashman will still prioritize high-end starting pitching this offseason, particularly with Patrick Corbin, Nathan Eovaldi and others in the free agent market. Also valuable: Paxton won’t be a free agent for another two seasons. They have also been linked to the Indians’ Corey Kluber and Carlos Carrasco.

Now what, part 2? Besides starting pitching, Cashman needs to bolster his bullpen following the losses of David Robertson and Zach Britton to free agency. (On Saturady, Tommy Kahnle advocated for the signing of reliever Adam Ottavino.) The Yankees also need middle infield help, with shortstop Didi Gregorius set to miss half the season — if not more — thanks to Tommy John surgery he had in October. The Yankees could shift second baseman Gleyber Torres to shortstop until Gregorius gets back or they could sign a shortstop. Manny Machado has been connected often to the Yankees this offseason. The Yankees can’t be counted out of the sweepstakes for Bryce Harper, too.

Who are the other guys? Swanson gets plenty of strikeouts and his height (6-foot-3) helps get him downward plane on his fastball. The Yankees didn’t seem convinced he was a longterm starting pitcher, however. Swanson is Rule 5 Draft eligible, so the Yankees would likely have added him to the 40-man roster Tuesday to protect him. As for Thompson-Williams, he hit well at High-A in 2018, posting a .290 batting average with 17 home runs in 90 games. But he’s not considered a high-end talent and the Yankees have plenty of outfielders ahead of him.

Brendan Kuty may be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @BrendanKutyNJ. Find NJ.com Yankees on Facebook.