James Paxton spent the first two months of the 201

NEW YORK (AP) — 6 season in the minor leagues after an awful spring training caused his demotion.When he returned to the majors Albert Pujols Jersey , he quickly emerged as the Mariners’ ace, and now the Yankees hope he can bolster the thin rotation that contributed to New York’s loss to Boston in the AL Division Series. New York acquired the 30-year-old left-hander from the rebuilding Seattle Mariners on Monday for top prospect Justus Sheffield and two other minor leaguers.“I think I’ll be a great fit. They seem very committed to winning, and so am I,” Paxton said.New York sent the left-handed Sheffield to the Mariners along with right-hander Erik Swanson and outfielder Dom Thompson-Williams.Paxton turned 30 on Nov. 6 and went 11-6 with a 3.76 ERA in 28 starts last season, including a 16-strikeout start against Oakland on May 2 and a no-hitter at Toronto six days later. He struck out 208 and walked 42 in a career-high 160 1/3 innings, allowing 23 home runs.Paxton is 41-26 in six major league seasons, making six trips to the disabled list in the last five years. He missed nearly four months with a strained left latissimus dorsi muscle in 2014, 3½ months with a strained tendon in left middle finger in 2015, 10 days with a bruised left elbow in 2016, 3½ weeks with a strained left forearm and a month with a strained left pectoral muscle in 2017, and 2½ weeks with lower back inflammation this year.“I continue to try to work towards being healthy for an entire season,” he said. “All the injuries that I’ve had haven’t reoccurred. I’ve learned how to make sure those things don’t happen again through exercise or whatever.”When he went to Triple-A two years ago, he worked with former big league pitcher Lance Painter, who told him to drop his arm angle back to three-quarters. When Paxton returned to the Mariners, he studied reading swings with pitching coach Mel Stottlemyre Jr.“It’s taken me a little longer I think in my career because I have had so much time off http://www.stlouiscardinalsteamshop.com/authentic-marcell-ozuna-jersey ,” Paxton said. “But having those larger chunks the last couple years has really allowed me to come into my own and really make some big strides, and I look forward to continuing to make big strides in my game. And I think that my best baseball is still to come.”A proud Canadian born in a fishing village in the suburbs of Vancouver, British Columbia, Paxton is also known for keeping his composure as a bald eagle mistakenly landed on his shoulder prior to a start at Minnesota in April.He joins a rotation projected to include right-handers Luis Severino and Masahiro Tanaka and left-hander CC Sabathia. General manager Brian Cashman wants to add at least one more starter, address the shortstop opening created by Didi Gregorius‘ elbow surgery and add to his bullpen.Paxton made $4.9 million last season and is eligible for salary arbitration. He can become a free agent after the 2020 season.In his one game at Yankee Stadium, Paxton entered with a 10-start unbeaten streak and allowed two-run homers to Aaron Judge and Miguel Andujar in the first inning of a 4-3 loss on June 21 this year.Seattle decided to rebuild after going 89-73 and finishing third in the AL West, 14 games behind division-winning Houston and six back of Oakland.“Clearly we’ve opted 2019 be a year that we take a step back hoping to take two forward,” general manager Jerry Dipoto said. “When I say 2020 and 2021, it’s simply gauging the ages of the players we’re building around here.”Sheffield is rated among the top minor league prospects, made his big league debut in September and pitched in three games for the Yankees. He had a 2.48 ERA in 25 minor league appearances at Double-A and Triple-A this year, striking out 123 in 116 innings and allowing just four home runs.Sheffield had just finished playing golf when he saw Cashman’s number on his cell phone.“Definitely caught me by surprise,” Sheffield said.Sheffield won’t turn 23 until May and could become a future anchor to Seattle’s rotation.Swanson, 25, started the year at Double-A Trenton but spent most of 2018 at the Triple-A level with Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, where he made 13 starts and had a 3.86 ERA. Swanson had 78 strikeouts and 14 walks in 72 1/3 innings in Triple-A. He pitched 121 2/3 total innings last season overall and was rated among the top 25 prospects in the Yankees organization by MLB.com.“I think both of them are going to compete for a spot in the rotation Roger Maris Jersey ,” Dipoto said. “We absolutely expect to see both guys before the summer is through in Seattle and they will start cutting their teeth here and hopefully set us up for what we think will be a pretty exciting group as we enter 2020 and 2021.”Thompson-Williams, 23, has never played above Class A and will turn 24 next April. He had 22 home runs, 20 stolen bases and a .299 average across two Class A affiliates this year.Cashman is aggressively pursuing pitching from outside the organization, even after Sonny Gray flamed out during 1 1/3 seasons with New York, shaken by repeated booing at Yankee Stadium.“I can’t tell you we’ve learned anything further other than we drill down as much as we can, whether with players that have played with somebody as teammates that we know or coaches who have coached or people who have managed or anybody, whether it’s all the way back in the amateur ranks,” Cashman said. “We just try to ask a lot of questions about how they compete. This environment can bring out a different experience for some. So I don’t have a new secret formula to address predictability on who will thrive and survive and who won’t here in New York.” Los Angeles Dodgers third base coach Chris Woodward was hired as manager of the Texas Rangers on Saturday, six weeks after Jeff Banister was fired.He received a three-year contract with a club option for 2022. He will be introduced at a news conference Monday.Woodward inherits a team that went 67-95 and finished last in the AL West, with the focus turning to the development of younger players. Texas had its first consecutive losing seasons since 2005-08.The hiring ended a process during which general manager Jon Daniels and the Rangers interviewed more than 10 candidates, including bench coach Don Wakamatsu after he served as interim coach the final 10 games of the season.Woodward was interviewed this week after the Dodgers finished their second straight season in which they advanced to the World Series, losing both times. The last team before Los Angeles that appeared in consecutive World Series without winning the title was Texas in 2010 and 2011.“We interviewed a number of strong candidates during an extensive interview process for our managerial role and believe we have found the right fit in Chris Woodward,” Daniels said in a statement released by the team. “We look forward to working with him and everyone on the baseball staff to develop and grow a culture that will lead to success for many years to come.”Daniels has hired three managers in his 13 seasons as the Rangers GM, and all were first-time MLB managers. Texas won its only American League pennants during Ron Washington’s eight seasons before Banister won two AL West titles in his four seasons.Two candidates Texas interviewed were hired last month as managers by other teams Matt Carpenter Jersey , David Bell in Cincinnati and Rocco Baldelli in Minnesota. The hiring of Woodward left the Baltimore Orioles, who fired Buck Showalter after the season, as the only MLB team with a managerial vacancy.The 42-year-old Woodward spent the past three years on the staff of manager Dave Roberts, after working for Seattle the previous three years. He started his coaching career as minor league infield coordinator for the Mariners in 2013, then joined their big league staff later that year. He was Seattle’s infield coach in 2014 and the first base coach in 2015.“Chris brings high energy, outstanding leadership and communication skills, a strong knowledge of the game and its evolving strategies, and great integrity — attributes that we feel are vital for our next manager,” Daniels said. “We believe these traits will resonate with our players, our staff, and our fans. He has also been a big part of a very successful stretch in Los Angeles.”As a player, Woodward spent 12 seasons (1999-2011) with five teams — Toronto, the New York Mets, Seattle, Atlanta and Boston. He hit .239 with 33 home runs and 191 RBIs while playing every position except pitcher and catcher.Woodward was teammates with Adrian Beltre for a short period during the 2009 season with the Mariners. Beltre http://www.stlouiscardinalsteamshop.com/authentic-marcell-ozuna-jersey , who has 3,166 career hits, just completed his 21st big league season and hasn’t said yet if he will return to play for the Rangers again next year.When Beltre went on the disabled list during the 2009 season, Woodward started 13 games at third base in his place. Soon after Beltre’s return that August, Woodward was selected off waivers by the Boston Red Sox.The Rangers went 87-75 in 2009 before their two World Series seasons, then lost in the AL’s first one-and-done wild-card game in 2012. They ended the 2013 regular season with a loss to Tampa Bay in a wild-card tiebreaker.When Banister was fired Sept. 21 with 10 games left in this season, Daniels acknowledged that the decision wasn’t based on the record and said instead that it was time for a new voice in leadership. Banister was under contract through next season.Woodward is a native of Covina, California, as is Michael Young, the Rangers career leader in hits and games played who is now a special assistant to the general manager. They are the same age but played at different high schools.