Yankees trade for left-handed starter Paxton
NEW YORK — Left-hander James Paxton was acquired by the Yankees from the Seattle Mariners for a trio of prospects Monday, bolstering a thin starting rotation.
New York sent lefthander Justus 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 no-hitter at Toronto on May 8. Paxton is also known for keeping his composure as a bald eagle mistakenly landed on his shoulder prior to a start at Minnesota in April.
He joins a rotation projected to include right-handers Luis Severino and Masahiro Tanaka, and left-hander CC Sabathia.
Paxton made $4.9 million last season and is eligible for salary arbitration. He can become a free agent after the 2020 season.
Sheffield is rated among the top minor league prospects, made his big league debut in September and pitched in three games for the Yankees. He had a 2.48 ERA in 25 minor-league appearances at Class AA and Class AAA this year, striking out 123 in 116 innings and allowing just 4 home runs.
Sheffield won’t turn 23 until May and could become a future anchor to Seattle’s rotation. Swanson, 25, started the year at Class AA Trenton but spent most of 2018 at the Class AAA level with Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, where he made 13 starts and had a 3.86 ERA. Swanson had 78 strikeouts and 14 walks in 721/3 innings in Class AAA. He pitched 1212/3 total innings last season and was rated among the top 25 prospects in the Yankees organization by MLB.com.
Thompson-Williams, 23, has never played above Class A and will turn 24 in April. He had 22 home runs, 20 stolen bases and a .299 average across two Class A affiliates this year.