It has been nearly two years since Boston Red Sox lefty James Paxton has pitched in a big-league game.
The latter stages of Paxton's career have been completely marred by injuries, including in 2022 during his first campaign with the Red Sox. The southpaw spent most of the year recovering from Tommy John surgery and then when he made his first rehab start in August, he suffered a grade-two lat strain, which put an end to his season without ever throwing a pitch for the Red Sox.
But with Paxton apparently fully healthy now during spring training, he has caught the eye of manager Alex Cora as the veteran pitcher has found a way to put his litany of injuries behind him.
"He's a ballplayer now," Cora told reporters Tuesday, per The Boston Globe's Pete Abraham. "There's no talk about the elbow or the arm on the side. It's baseball talk. He feels he's right where he should be."
Paxton's last full season in the majors came in 2019 with the New York Yankees. Paxton started 29 games in pinstripes that year, posting a 15-6 record to go along with a 3.82 ERA while recording 186 strikeouts in 150 2/3 innings.
A flexor strain in his left arm limited Paxton to just 20 1/3 innings with the Yankees in 2020 and then in his season debut with the Seattle Mariners in 2021, he couldn't even make it two innings without needing season-ending surgery.
It's been a long road for the 34-year-old Paxton, who came back to the Red Sox when he picked up his $4 million player option this offseason after Boston initially declined its team option.
Red Sox fans will get their first look at Paxton on Friday when he is scheduled to take the mound and start against the Minnesota Twins.
And coming out of that outing healthy will be the most important thing for Paxton.
