James Paxton Opens Up About Potential Future With Red Sox

Boston Red Sox starting pitcher James Paxton is encouraged by the way things went for him this season. It’s hard for the veteran lefty not to have that view despite his campaign ending early due to a knee injury.

Paxton made 19 starts for the Red Sox this season after not having pitched in the majors since 2021. At times, he was Boston’s most reliable starter and posted a 7-5 record with a 4.50 ERA to go along with 101 strikeouts in 96 innings — the most frames Paxton pitched since 2019.

Despite the bounce-back season, the future remains unclear for the oft-injured Paxton, who turns 35 in November.

The Red Sox initially declined Paxton’s two-year, $26 million team option last November, leading Paxton to pick up his one-year, $4 million player option to stay with Boston in 2023.

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Paxton is headed for unrestricted free agency after this season. He could see himself putting on a Red Sox uniform again, but he’s unsure if the club feels the same way since any contract discussions have yet to happen.

“We haven’t had those conversations,” Paxton told The Boston Globe’s Alex Speier. “I’ve had a good experience here. I like pitching here, being part of this team, this club. But there haven’t been any conversations about what’s coming after this. It’s kind of a mystery to me as well.

“I really don’t know what to expect. I’m just excited that I’m ready to get back out there and pitch again. I’ll be ready to pitch again next year and take on more of a load than I did this year because I kind of have this base now. I’ll just get myself ready for that, and see where the chips fall.”

Paxton’s health will once again be the biggest question mark going into next season. Right knee inflammation caused him to struggle mightily over his final three starts with Paxton allowing 17 runs and 18 hits in a combined 9 2/3 innings.

Paxton feels very confident that he won’t be hindered by the ailment by the start of next season and also believes he has proven enough this season to show he can still be a relied upon piece in a big-league starting rotation.

“I’ll get my body right and address the things I need to address and get back to pitching how I was before these past last three starts,” Paxton told Speier. “I think I showed myself what I’m capable of doing, and I’m ready to go out there and do it again after the offseason.”