The Red Sox have added depth to their rotation by acquiring left-hander James Paxton from the Dodgers in exchange for minor league infielder Moises Bolivar, as announced by the teams on Friday. To make room on the 40-man roster, Boston transferred right-hander Bryan Mata to the 60-day injured list. WEEI’s Rob Bradford had reported that the Red Sox, who need rotation stability and previously employed Paxton from 2022-23, were expected to pursue him.
Paxton was surprisingly designated for assignment by the Dodgers despite making all 18 starts this season and posting a 4.43 ERA. While similar to his 4.50 ERA with Boston last year, Paxton’s underlying stats have declined. His fastball velocity dropped from 95.2 mph last season to 93.2 mph in 2024, his strikeout rate decreased from 24.6% to 16.4%, and his walk rate increased from 8% to 12.3%. Additionally, his average exit velocity and hard-hit rate have both risen. Paxton has managed with a .267 BABIP and a lower homer-to-flyball rate than his career averages.
The Red Sox do not need Paxton to perform as a front-line starter but to add stability to a rotation that includes Tanner Houck, Kutter Crawford, Nick Pivetta, Brayan Bello, and Cooper Criswell, some of whom are reaching new career-high workloads. Paxton’s affordable contract—$7M guaranteed with $6M in bonuses already earned—means Boston will only owe him about $1.42M for the rest of the season.
This acquisition brings Boston’s payroll to approximately $180M, with a luxury-tax ledger around $220M. The Red Sox still have room to make further additions before reaching the first luxury tax threshold. In addition to rotation depth, Boston is looking for bullpen upgrades and a right-handed bat.
For the Dodgers, trading Paxton, who ranks third on their team in innings pitched, is not a sign of selling. Los Angeles, leading the NL West, recently welcomed back Tyler Glasnow and Clayton Kershaw from the injured list. With the return of Yoshinobu Yamamoto in August and Walker Buehler before season’s end, Paxton was pushed out of the rotation mix.
In exchange for Paxton, the Dodgers receive 17-year-old Moises Bolivar, who signed with the Red Sox as an amateur free agent from Venezuela in January. Bolivar, who has started strong in his professional debut with the Red Sox’s Rookie-level Dominican Summer League affiliate, is considered a lottery-ticket return for the veteran pitcher.
FanSided’s Robert Murray first reported the trade talks, with ESPN’s Jeff Passan confirming the deal. Additional details on the Dodgers’ return were provided by Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic and Alex Speier of the Boston Globe.
