Dodgers designate James Paxton for assignment

3:40 pmThe Dodgers made it official by announcing that they had selected Ryan and designated Paxton to take over.

2:42 PM: The Dodgers are designating the veteran left-hander james paxton For the assignment, Reports FanSided’s Robert Murray noted that the team has yet to formally announce the move.

Paxton, 35, signed a complicated one-year deal with the Dodgers that will pay him a $3MM signing bonus, a $4MM salary, a $2MM roster bonus for joining the Opening Day squad and a series of $600K and $1MM bonuses that will unlock periodically based on the number of games he starts. Paxton has made 18 starts this season, which was the final milestone needed to max out his contract. He will get the full $13MM possible on the deal, but it seems likely he will finish the season with another club in some way.

It would be a move that might surprise some. Paxton has a solid ERA of 4.43 and has been the Dodgers’ healthiest starter in recent years despite a long list of injuries. He is on par Tyler Glasnow And Gavin Stone Leads the team with 18 starts, but is well below both right-handers in total innings pitched, as he has averaged less than five frames per start.

Paxton’s earned run average also belies some less encouraging numbers. His 16.4% strikeout rate is nearly six percentage points below the 22.3% league average, while his 12.3% walk rate is well above the 8.2% average. He’s benefited from a .267 average on balls in play that’s the lowest mark of his career, despite giving up a career-high 90.8 mph average exit velocity and a 43.3% hard-hit rate that’s the second-worst mark of his big league tenure. Paxton has been hit particularly hard lately; since June 5, he’s carried a 6.03 ERA in 37 1/3 innings (eight starts). Extend that endpoint to mid-May,

The Dodgers are set to welcome both Glasnow and Clayton Kershaw They will return to the rotation this week. Glasnow has been out since July 9 with lower back pain and will spend at least 15 days on the injured list. Kershaw has not pitched yet this season while recovering from shoulder surgery last November. The veteran duo will join the team Gavin Stone, Landon Knack And Justin Wrobleski as the starting option for manager Dave Roberts, although the Dodgers are also rumored to be promoting a top pitching prospect River Ryan to make his debut this week. Both Ryan and Kershaw would require the Dodgers to open up 40-man spots, and it seems likely that Paxton’s DFA would create one of those two vacancies.

In addition to Kershaw and Glasnow, the Dodgers hope that Walker Buehler And yoshinobu yamamoto He will return from the injured list sometime next month. Right-handed player bobby miller He was just optioned amid some ongoing struggles, but it gives the team another rotation option. And, of course, starting pitching is reportedly one of the Dodgers’ top priorities at next week’s trade deadline. It would be a surprise if president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman didn’t bolster his rotation in some capacity.

As for Paxton, he will now either be released or traded within the next week. The veteran lefty has enough service time to decline any assignment and retain his full salary, so the Dodgers might not even try to acquire him outright. It’s easy to see a team looking for rotation space showing some interest, but at the same time, given Paxton’s recent struggles, his relatively notable salary and the fact that once released, he won’t be available for more than the prorated league minimum, it would be hard for any club to give up much in a trade.