USA Today Sports – Rick Osentoski
As the 2015 season approaches, starting pitchers James Paxton of the Seattle Mariners is still proving to have durability issues — offseason durability issues. That does not foreshadow favorable results for his upcoming in-season pitching aptitude — 2014 didn’t exactly lay any doubts to rest, either.
Paxton fell during agility drills about a week ago, and will be held out of throwing for the first three days of camp due to a strained left forearm. That left arm is expected to be a very large component of the Mariners’ rotation in 2015.
As per Greg Johns over at MLB.com, Mariners GM Jack Zduriencik offered his opinion on the situation, saying, “[James] actually hurt both arms. He fell and grabbed himself. His left arm is a little sore and his right arm, we’re not that concerned about.”
He doesn’t seem concerned about the right arm, but why would the organization be? The investment is with the 26 year old’s left arm. Zduriencik went on to note that, “He kind of braced himself and jammed it. So no sense pushing it. We’ll let him get treatment, let it quiet down and get him out here as soon as he’s ready.”
That was more or less the attitude last season when Paxton strained his latissimus during his second start of 2014. The typical recovery time for that kind of strain, though it can vary, is about four to six weeks.
Paxton was on the shelf until August after experiencing a setback in his rehab. He missed the final three weeks of April, plus all of May, June and July before getting back in the saddle for a start Aug. 2 against the Baltimore Orioles. He wound up going 6-4 with a 3.04 ERA and 59 strikeouts over 74 IP last year.
It sounds like this truly is a minor mishap for Paxton, and he should be all set for Opening Day. Still, it would be nice for him to stay out of the headlines period in regards to any health issues stemming from an incident dubbed an “unathletic moment.”
Jordan Wevers is an MLB Featured Writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @JordanWevers, “Like” him on Facebook, or add him to your network on Google.
