Should the Cleveland Guardians bring in James Paxton?

An intriguing name has just become available for the Cleveland Guardians to consider bringing in ahead of the MLB Trade Deadline. The Los Angeles Dodgers have designated James Paxton for assignment, according to a report from FanSided's Robert Murray.

Los Angeles is anticipating the returns of Clayton Kershaw and Tyler Glasnow in the near future, and that made Paxton expendable in a transaction that the Dodgers had to make.

While Paxton is nowhere near being the pitcher he used to be during his peak, which ran until the end of the 2019 season, he has rebounded through an injury-riddled stretch that negatively impacted his performance in 2020 and 2021 before missing all of 2022 following Tommy John surgery. Since then, Paxton has compiled a 4.47 ERA and 1.381 WHIP over 37 starts during his time with the Boston Red Sox and Dodgers.

There are a few concerns when it comes to Paxton that may curb any genuine interest that needs to be mentioned here. A noticeable drop in strikeouts (9.5 in 2023 to 6.8 in 2024) and his National League-leading 48 walks issued. Between the two, the high walk rate (4.8 per nine) would be the primary concern. The Guardians have already endured the high walk volumes of Triston McKenzie (5.8) and Logan Allen (3.6), with both calling Triple-A Columbus home at this present time. Adding someone else into the mix who has the exact same problem as those two may not be the best idea, even with his ERA being lower than theirs.

If the Guardians were to bring in Paxton, it cannot be used to serve as a replacement for acquiring another pitcher via trade. Cleveland needs at least a middle-of-the-rotation starter, and Paxton would be more back end at this time, even with the current state of the Guardians' rotation. With that being said, acquiring the services of Paxton could be beneficial as it could manage the wear and tear on the rotation as they get ready for the postseason. But again, this would have to be a secondary or tertiary pitching addition rather than the primary one.