The Boston Red Sox offense has gotten off to a hot start in 2023. The pitching staff? Well, not so much.
While the Red Sox offense combined to score 33 runs across their first four games, the pitching staff gave up 30 runs with a combined 7.50 ERA during the 2-2 start to the season. Those numbers are worrisome, but Boston is still holding out hope that the staff will improve once it returns to full strength.
One of the pitchers expected to make an impact when he comes off the injured list? James Paxton.
So far, things look good.
Paxton threw three innings at the Red Sox's spring training facility down in Fort Myers, Fla. on Tuesday, according to Alex Speier of The Boston Globe. The workout went well, as Speier also reported Paxton was able to get his fastball up to 94 mph while continuing to build volume and workload.
Paxton, who was signed to a one-year contract with some interesting language prior to the 2022 season, missed the year recovering from Tommy John surgery and was shut down with a lat tear in late August. After Boston declined its two-year club-option, Paxton picked up his one-year, $4 million player option to give himself another shot at working on the Red Sox's staff.
It looked like he could get there before the 34-year-old suffered a hamstring injury in his spring training start on March 3, setting his Red Sox debut even further back.
The latest news, which coincides with a promising update from Red Sox manager Alex Cora, is as good as it has gotten for Paxton.
