Sources: Dodgers and Paxton close to agreement

The Los Angeles Dodgers are close to finalizing a one-year deal with infielder James Paxton, sources tell ESPN

Los Angeles Dodgers he They came closer Still an agreement to year With a free starting agent James Paxton Monday night, sources told ESPN, confirming multiple reports. A source familiar with the negotiations said Paxton's deal, which is still pending the completion of a physical, would pay him about $11 million in guaranteed money.

Paxton, a 35-year-old left-hander with a checkered injury history, made just six starts between 2020 and 2022 after undergoing surgery to repair a herniated disc and remove a cyst from his back, in addition to Tommy John surgery. Paxton returned in May 2023, nearly 25 months after elbow surgery, and eventually went 7-5 with a 4.50 ERA in 19 starts for the Boston Red Sox, striking out 101 batters and walking 33 in 96 innings.

Paxton posted a 2.73 ERA in 10 starts in the first half, but struggled to a 6.98 ERA in nine starts during the second half, causing him to miss nearly all of September with a sore knee.

Paxton will join a star-studded Dodgers rotation that was largely revamped this offseason: Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Tyler Glasnow, Walker Buehler And Bobby Millerwith players like Emmett Sheehan, Michael Groff And Gavin Stone Also waiting in the wings. It is also expected that Dustin Maywho is returning from flexor tendon surgery, will be an option during the season.

The Dodgers spent about $1.07 billion this offseason on free agents Shohei Otaniyamamoto, Teoscar Hernandez, Jason Hayward And Paxton, even though almost the entire Ohtani deal has been put on hold. They also acquired Glasnow along with an outfielder Manuel Margotin a trade and subsequently signed him to a five-year, $136.6 million extension.

The Dodgers' depth is enviable, but the question marks in their rotation are nonetheless evident. Buehler is returning from his second Tommy John surgery and will undoubtedly navigate the 2024 season with inning restrictions, while Glasnow will likely be closely monitored after Tommy John surgery in 2022.

Yamamoto, for his part, comes from Japan, where he is accustomed to pitching in a six-man rotation. While the Dodgers likely won't field six full-time starters, their added depth could allow Yamamoto the flexibility to start on five days off in periods when there are no days off.

The Dodgers haven't publicly closed the door on a return Clayton Kershaw, but he had shoulder surgery in the offseason and won't be an option until perhaps August. Ohtani won't be ready to participate until 2025.

Hailing from British Columbia, Paxton was durable and largely efficient while with the Seattle Mariners and New York Yankees from 2017 to 2019, compiling 81 starts, posting a 3.54 ERA and striking out 11.1 batters per nine innings.