Canadian ace Paxton dealt to Yanks

NEW YORK — James Paxton spent the first two months of the 2016 season in the minor leagues after an awful spring training caused his demotion.

When he returned to the majors, he quickly emerged as the Mariners’ ace, and now the Yankees hope he can bolster the thin rotation that contributed to New York’s loss to Boston in the AL Division Series. New York acquired the 30-year-old left-hander from the rebuilding Seattle Mariners on Monday for top prospect Justus Sheffield and two other minor leaguers.

“I think I’ll be a great fit. They seem very committed to winning, and so am I,” Paxton said.

New York sent the left-handed Sheffield to the Mariners along with right-hander Erik Swanson and outfielder Dom Thompson-Williams.

Paxton turned 30 on Nov. 6 and went 11-6 with a 3.76 ERA in 28 starts last season, including a 16-strikeout start against Oakland on May 2 and a no-hitter at Toronto six days later. He struck out 208 and walked 42 in a career-high 160 1/3 innings, allowing 23 home runs.

Paxton, from Ladner, B.C., is 41-26 in six major league seasons, making six trips to the disabled list in the last five years. He missed nearly four months with a strained left latissimus dorsi muscle in 2014, 3 1/2 months with a strained tendon in left middle finger in 2015, 10 days with a bruised left elbow in 2016, 3 1/2 weeks with a strained left forearm and a month with a strained left pectoral muscle in 2017, and 2 1/2 weeks with lower back inflammation this year.

“I continue to try to work towards being healthy for an entire season,” he said.