Seattle Mariners: James Paxton Trade Profile, Be Creative With Lefty

The Destination

As expected, count rebuilding teams out on Paxton.

Pretty much every team that expects to win in 2019 should express some level of interest in him though.

However, teams probably looking at a longer timeline like the Twins, Angels, maybe Phillies and Giants (if they try to win) may not be as eager to add just a 2-year asset.

Organizations with strong, controllable top-of-the-rotation talent may find it wiser to invest their resources in areas of greater need as well. This could mean the Red Sox, Indians, Astros, Nationals, Mets, Cubs, Cardinals, Pirates, and Rockies may not pursue him as strongly as other teams.

And let’s be honest, there is no way that Jerry Dipoto deals Paxton to the A’s, so count them out too.

That leaves the Yankees, Braves, and Brewers as very likely in on James Paxton.

The Yankees

The lineup is mostly locked in for 2019, but while Luis Severino and Masahiro Tanaka are great up top, the rotation could use someone to slot in right behind them.

As the defacto ace of the Mariners’ staff for the past two years at least, Paxton is well-poised to step into the 3rd spot of the Yankees’ rotation, and New York certainly has the minor league talent to pull off a trade.

Paxton is projected to earn about $9 million in arbitration but that is a relative bargain and is extremely fitting if the Yankees can offload Sonny Gray who is also projected to earn about $9 million in arbitration.

However, as is typical, the Yankees have some money to work with and may rather consider Paxton or another trade as a backup plan to signing top free agent Patrick Corbin.

Fit: Good

The Braves

Like a certain AL West rival, the Braves seemed to arrive one year early in 2018, as they captured a division title over the heavily favored Nationals and hot starting Phillies.

They have plenty of promising young pitchers in the pipeline, but none is guaranteed to match Paxton’s 2019 output. Again, Patrick Corbin may factor in here, and again, Paxton figures to be a solid short-term alternative.

The team is set to compete right now and projecting Mike Foltynewicz, Sean Newcomb, and Kevin Gausman to follow James Paxton smacks me as a legitimate playoff-caliber rotation. On the other side of things, the Mariners’ pitching-starved system could receive a huge shot in the arm from some package of the Braves’ enviable collection of young arms.

Fit: Great 

The Brewers

The Brewers emerged as a serious contender in 2018 thanks in no small part to Christian Yelich and Lorenzo Cain, yet their rotation left something to be desired.

Part of that was due to the absence of staff ace Jimmy Nelson, but even including him, they aren’t flush with top-end starting talent. Paxton might not deserve an “ace” label because he doesn’t log high innings totals, yet he would figure to become the Brewers’ top starter if acquired with a repeat of 2017 not guaranteed for Nelson.

Fit: Great

Of course, this is a very abbreviated list, but, hey, do you want me to ramble about three teams or like twelve?