Left-hander James Paxton agrees to $11 million deal with high-spending Dodgers, AP source says
Left-hander James Paxton and the Los Angeles Dodgers have agreed to an $11 million, one-year contract, a person familiar with the negotiations told The Associated Press.
The person spoke on condition of anonymity Tuesday because the agreement was subject to a successful physical.
Paxton can earn up to $13 million if he is healthy during the early part of the season and starts at least 20 games.
He joins a Dodgers rotation projected to include fellow newcomers Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Tyler Glasnow along with Walker Buehler, returning from Tommy John surgery, and Bobby Miller or Emmet Sheehan.
Los Angeles has been baseball’s top spender this offseason, committing $1,246,687,500 to two-way star Shohei Ohtani, Yamamoto, Glasnow, Paxton and outfielder Teoscar Hernández.
Paxton gets a $3 million signing bonus, payable by Feb. 7 if the contract has been signed and approved by the commissioner’s office, and an $8 million salary.
He would receive a $1 million bonus if he is on the active opening day roster, and if Paxton does not earn that bonus he could trigger a $500,000 bonus if he is on the active roster by April 15.
Paxton can earn $1 million in performance bonuses for starts: $250,000 each for 16 and 18, and $500,000 for 20.
A 35-year-old left-hander, Paxton was 7-5 with a 4.50 ERA last year in his only season with the Boston Red Sox. He strained his right hamstring during his first spring training start on March 3 and didn’t make his season debut until May 12. Paxton didn’t pitch after Sept. 1 because of right knee inflammation.
Paxton signed an $8.5 million, one-year contract with Seattle ahead of the 2021 season, cut short his opening start on April 6 and had Tommy John surgery eight days later. He signed a $10 million, two-year contract with Boston and returned to make seven minor league appearances late in the 2022 season.
Paxton is 64-38 with a 3.69 ERA in 156 starts over seven big league seasons with Seattle (2013-18), the New York Yankees (2019-20) and Boston.
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