Seattle Mariners rumors about James Paxton are not good. Paxton suffered an injury as the Mariners played against the Cleveland Indians Thursday night (May 28), forcing him to leave the game for further examination. A report from MLB.com states that Paxton felt a “twinge” in the middle finger of his pitching hand. It took place in the top of the fifth inning, and he tried to work through it on the next pitch. The impairment wouldn’t allow him to finish the pitch, earning a visit from Mariners athletic trainer Rob Nodine.
Paxton got pulled from the game almost immediately, and it’s not a stretch to suggest that Mariners fans gasped in disbelief at the bad fortune. There hasn’t been another update about the situation, but it’s never good when an MLB starting pitcher is having problems with his throwing hand. He talked about it after the game, although Paxton couldn’t shine any additional light on what had happened.
“I’m not sure exactly what’s going on with it, but hopefully we’ll have more information tomorrow. Right now it feels fine. I have good movement in it. It’s a little bit sore to the touch, so I’m not sure exactly what’s going on. Obviously I’m not happy about it, but I’m staying positive and I don’t think it’s going to be anything too big, hopefully. We’ll find out tomorrow. Right now it has pretty good movement and it already feels better than it did an hour ago. Hopefully by tomorrow it’ll feel much better.”
There had been previous Seattle Mariners rumors that fellow starting pitcher Taijuan Walker was close to getting optioned back to Triple-A Tacoma. Emerald City Swagger noted that his ERA of 7.33 in 2015 was not what the team needed and that a demotion might be necessary. At that point, the Mariners already had very few options to call up, and Mike Montgomery was suggested as someone deserving of the promotion. Now the Mariners might have to stick with Walker if it turns out Paxton needs time on the disabled list.
There are a lot of Seattle Mariners rumors floating around about what might be wrong with James Paxton, but none of them have been confirmed by the team. It is very likely that the franchise takes this slow, as he is an integral part of the starting rotation. Paxton has made 10 starts already this season, giving the Mariners 58 1/3 innings, a 3-3 record, a 3.70 ERA, and a WHIP of 1.30. He recently went eight strong innings against the Boston Red Sox, showing the Mariners he was truly becoming that No. 2 starter in the rotation.
As previously reported on the Inquisitr , the Mariners opened the checkbook with the recent signings of Robinson Cano and Nelson Cruz. The team is all-in on making it to the postseason in 2015, despite some early season struggles. What the team does not need is bad news about a key starting pitcher as they start to move up in the American League West standings. Seattle Mariners fans and fantasy baseball owners will want to pay close attention to this situation, as a press release from the team is expected at some point on Friday (May 29).
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