The agonizing journey back to the major leagues is over for Boston Red Sox pitcher James Paxton, and it is really a case study in perseverance.
He's gone through major surgery and suffered setbacks along the way, which kept delaying his return and making this a moment over two years in the making.
But after grinding his way through the injuries, Paxton is finally, and officially, back in the big leagues after the Red Sox activated the 34-year-old Wednesday. The roster move was made with Paxton getting set to make his first start since April 6, 2021, on Friday against the St. Louis Cardinals at Fenway Park.
"It was a long road," Paxton told reporters, per The Boston Globe's Pete Abraham. "I just kept my head down and kept on going."
Paxton added: "It was tough. It was hard to get through mentally. All I could do was keep going. It was either that or quit, and I wasn't going to quit."
Paxton's odyssey back to the majors started very early in the 2021 campaign when he walked off the mound with forearm pain as a member of the Seattle Mariners after just 1 1/3 innings in his season debut. The big left-hander had to undergo Tommy John surgery, and his recovery stretched into last season after he signed with the Red Sox.
Then in a rehab start in late August with Paxton pushing to get back, he had a setback, putting an end to his 2022 season as well. Paxton came into spring training in good health, though, but then a hamstring strain caused him to miss more time and further push back his timeline.
But Paxton made it through the adversity and just getting back to where he wanted to be is a win no matter what the result ends up being Friday.
"Happy for him that he's going to be able to perform," Red Sox manager Alex Cora told reporters, per Abraham. "He can go out there and throw six innings of scoreless baseball or he can give it up. It really doesn't matter. It's about him being able to compete at this level. That's the most important thing."
