LOS ANGELES — The Los Angeles Dodgers anticipate being one of the luxury shoppers at the top of the starting pitching market before next week’s July 30 trade deadline. On Monday, they cut one of two pitchers who hadn’t missed a start for them all season. That irony was not lost when Dodgers general manager Brandon Gomes called James Paxton on Monday morning to inform the 36-year-old veteran he was being designated for assignment.
Advertisement “I definitely lost sleep over it last night,” Gomes said, “but ultimately I just felt this was the right decision for the organization.” The impetus of the move was acute; the Dodgers needed an active and 40-man roster spot to call up pitching prospect River Ryan to make his major-league debut, hoping the converted infielder who has never topped five innings or 75 pitches in a professional outing could inject some life into their rotation. The club is already expecting Tyler Glasnow and Clayton Kershaw to return to the rotation this week, furthering the roster shuffle to come.
Worth noting, James Paxton's start yesterday gave him 18 starts on the season, making him $1 million maxing out all the start-related bonuses on his deal to $4 million in total. In theory, would make him more appealing to another club if those bonuses were already paid out. — Fabian Ardaya (@FabianArdaya) July 22, 2024 “It’s one of those decisions that are very difficult,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said.
“Trying to understand the guys th.