The Mariners’ off-season in 2021 was not a straight hit, but it certainly improved a lot today when James Paxton’s hiring became official, as signaled by the established tradition of a high-pitched press conference just below the spring training weapon. A bearded Paxton brought back all the good old feelings – at least for me personally, it’s remembering the pleasure of transcribing Pax’s spoken interviews – along with the presentation of an older and wiser self hardened in the playoffs crucible and the New York media landscape. For Paxton, going home to Seattle was an obvious choice for a player looking to get back to being himself:
“Many teams were interested in hiring me during this off-season. I really thought about it a lot, and I thought coming back to Seattle was the best long-term decision for me, and looking to the future in my career and what I want to do, I want to be myself again this year. I really struggled last year, coming back from back surgery. I’m comfortable here in Seattle, I love the group here and I’m excited to be part of it. “
As for the back surgery, a quick update: Pax’s back apparently started to bother him towards the end of the 2019 season, but he was able to shoot against the pain – including a dominant start in an unmissable game 5 against the Astros in ALCS qualifiers – thanks to cortisone injections and Canadian Grit. In the off-season, he had surgery to remove a peridiscal cyst, an “extremely rare” condition that is treated with microdiscectomy, or surgery to remove the affected part of the disc. Although the condition is rare, microdiscectomies are not, at least among MLB players – our own Mitch Haniger had one to solve his back problems. What they are, however, is a slow cure, and after surgery in February 2020, Paxton was probably taken back to competition before his body was fully healed (again, see Haniger-comma-Mitch). This led, according to Paxton, to a deterioration in his mechanics, which in turn led to an arm injury:
“It was hard. Going to summer camp last year, I thought I was fine, but looking back now and looking at my mechanics, my back leg wasn’t coming out of the rubber very well and it was making my arm drag behind me, and everything was moving slowly because of that. In fact, it put my arm in a dangerous position, and this is what I think caused my flexor injury, it was just my mechanics being off and not having my strength back 100%.
Looking at Paxton’s last start for the Yankees on August 20, when he struggled for five entries, yielding three runs with four walks (but still hitting eight!), You can see how he took a little bite out of his corner and how he was missing the dish. His fastball speed also decreased several ticks, going from 90 degrees. The arm drag he talks about in that quote is especially evident here, on a walk to Mike Zunino (!).
Paxton spent his free time at the agency working in Seattle, focusing on gaining strength, and also worked on recovering his mechanics. He says he felt “100%” again and is on the right track with speed in his bullpens, working until the low 90s, which is where he is usually out of season right now.
And with his focus on building health and proving to the rest of the league that he is healthy and deserves a big contract, Paxton may be one of the few veteran pitchers on the team who is looking forward to the six-player rotation. He certainly had a … more diplomatic response when asked about this:
“I understand the objective, for sure … I think with the lack of innings that the guys had last year, keeping people healthy throughout the season with the six-man, is probably a good idea. I personally would still like to get to that, at least 170 innings, I want to stay healthy and try to reach that mark, but I think it will be possible on a six-player rotation. But the goal is to stay healthy throughout the season, and if we’re making an effort for the postseason, I believe Jerry said that we will go with the top five players to make that effort. “
A playoff-experienced pitcher is also a James Paxton different from what Pax 1.0 Mariners fans knew. And Pax has not experienced the playoffs anywhere; was on the New York media scene, a climate less tolerant than the Arctic tundra. But this is also something he feels he can bring back to a team where he will be the seasoned veteran, not the rising superstar. “It was a great experience for me and something I can share with everyone here. That pressure. Extra pressure in New York, having this experience, being able to talk about it with the guys here, and preparing and telling them the things I learned from that experience, I think it will be very beneficial for us as a group. ”Paxton also cited his Yankee teammates, especially CC Sabathia and Masahiro Tanaka, as people who helped him adjust to the heightened expectations of an AL East playoff race. Now he will be the veteran bringing his experience to bear in a younger locker room – including the players he was traded for in Justus Sheffield and Erik Swanson.
Helping to shape the future Seattle team seems to be something Paxton is passionate about, but former farmer Jack Z acknowledges that he also has something to learn from the new team:
“I love working with guys, I love helping them, telling them what I know. I love to learn from them. Many of these guys who are coming now are very knowledgeable about the analytical side of the game because they came out at that time and I can learn from them, and I can also teach them about the big leagues and things I learned along the way. It’s something I really enjoy, so I’m looking forward to working with all the young people here. ”
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In fact, as much as fans have seen the Mariners ‘public relations machine working in overdrive (Sea Us Rise hashtag) and have seen the updated farm ranks go up with the Mariners’ organization going up and up, there is no endorsement that seems so vibrant as Paxton is warm here, the equivalent of having your cool big brother coming back from college and asking if you’ve been working out:
“When I look around the club here … there is a lot of talent. Many young people, many good arms, I think there is tremendous potential here with this team. And in the coming years – and even this year, we could surprise some people – but especially in the coming years, this team will be in a great position to compete and then reach the playoffs and see where it goes from there. But I really think this team is going places. “
We wish Pax a healthy and happy season, and that he can help guide this team to the places we all want them to go.