Why Did The Dodgers Designate James Paxton for Assignment?

The Dodgers designated James Paxton for assignment on Monday, a surprising move considering the team has been short on starting pitching for weeks and the team was 14-4 in games he started.

Paxton, 35, was 8-2 with a 4.43 earned-run average across 18 starts. Only Gavin Stone, who had also made 18 starts, was as available to the Dodgers this season. Seven Dodgers starting pitchers are currently on the 15- or 60-day injured list. So why cut loose one of the team’s most successful starters?

In short, the Dodgers needed to clear room on their 40-man roster for River Ryan, who’s scheduled to start Monday against the San Francisco Giants. To do that, the front office was faced with limited practical options:

1. Designate reliever Yohan Ramirez for assignment. Likely a popular move among fans, Ramirez for now provides valuable insurance in case Ryan has an abbreviated start and the Dodgers need someone to eat innings against the Giants. Ramirez’s brief time in a Dodgers uniform hasn’t always been pretty (0-5, 5.02 ERA) but he might not be around for long, anyways. More on that in a bit.
2. Move Walker Buehler to the 60-day injured list. Buehler’s status is far from clear, but we know he’s keeping sharp in Florida while ostensibly rehabbing from the hip injury that sent him to the injured list. A 60-day IL placement would push his return date out to Aug. 18. What if Buehler (1-4, 5.80 ERA) figures it out sooner and the Dodgers again need him in their rotation? Or if Buehler is traded in advance of the July 30 deadline — unlikely but certainly possible? Those are questions the Dodgers (or his next team, if he’s traded) didn’t want to have to grapple with.
3. Move Michael Grove to the 60-day injured list. Grove just began a rehab assignment with Triple-A Oklahoma City, and is the logical candidate to take Ramirez’s spot in the bullpen once he’s healthy. Taking him out of action until mid-August makes little sense.
4. Trade Paxton. This might have been Plan A, but it requires another team’s help. If the Dodgers could not line up with a trade partner before Ryan’s debut, their backs were effectively against the wall. The Dodgers might — and likely will — end up trading Paxton anyway.

Paxton’s one-year, $7 million contract (plus bonuses, which he maxed out at $4 million) and scary peripheral numbers (4.97 FIP, 1.455 WHIP, league-leading 48 walks, 16.4% strikeout rate) made him a more logical choice to trade than any of the remaining pitchers on the roster. Perhaps they could have shifted him to a bullpen role, but all of his 174 career appearances have come as a starter. It’s not automatic that Paxton could make the switch at age 35.

In the broader view, Ryan is a longer-term part of the team’s future — if he is not traded between now and the July 30 deadline. If he is going to be traded at the deadline, the Dodgers can effectively showcase Ryan’s talents tonight against the Giants. That in itself is arguably more valuable than a reliable, aging starting pitcher.

The Dodgers also plan to welcome back Clayton Kershaw and Tyler Glasnow to their starting rotation this week. Assuming they are healthy and productive, that also reduces the need for Paxton, in spite of his production.

Expect Paxton to pitch meaningful major league innings again soon. Just not for the Dodgers.

Photo Credit: Orlando Ramirez-USA TODAY Sports

Have you subscribed to our YouTube Channel yet? Subscribe and hit that notification bell to stay up to date on all the latest Dodgers news, rumors, interviews, live streams, and more!