James Paxton’s comeback tour is attracting league-wide notice.
MLB announced Monday that the veteran starter is the American League Pitcher of the Month for June.
It’s a well-earned honor for the man known as Big Maple. Over five June starts totaling 31 innings, he posted a 1.74 ERA and 0.774 WHIP while holding opposing batters to a .165 average and .482 OPS. He faced 116 batters and held them to six walks and 18 hits, only seven of which were for extra bases.
Though the 34-year-old left-hander has put together an impressive career since his September 2013 debut, POTM is an honor he’s received only once before, in July 2017.
June was a tumultuous, disappointing month for the Red Sox. As they lost Chris Sale, Tanner Houck, and Corey Kluber to injuries (and Garrett Whitlock over the weekend), Paxton anchored the rotation. For a team hemorrhaging pitching, he’s been a saving grace.
And for him, personally, after about two years of missed time due to Tommy John and a lat tear, moments like these must be a long time coming.
Jansen is Boston’s lone representative at this summer’s All-Star Game.
This will be the 35-year-old’s fourth All-Star Game (all within the last eight years), but first time representing the American League; he spent his first 12 major league seasons with the Los Angeles Dodgers before signing on with the Atlanta Braves for 2022.
The selection is a testament to his season. Over 30 appearances, the veteran closer owns a 3.45 ERA and 3.01 FIP, with 24 games finished and 17 saves. On May 10, he became just the seventh player in MLB history to reach 400 saves.
“He’s been great,” Chaim Bloom told the Herald on Monday. “And it’s exciting to see him get this nod, because if anything, I think it’s underappreciated what it takes to stay at this high level of play for such a long time. You can’t just put it in cruise control, you have to keep working to succeed. It’s really incredible what he’s done and for how long.
On May 10, Jansen became just the seventh player in MLB history to reach 400 saves. Looking ahead, he’s could very well be on his way to the Hall of Fame.
“He’s certainly getting himself into that conversation,” Bloom agrees. “It’s such a short list of players who’ve accomplished what he has accomplished. It really is remarkable, the career that he’s had and continues to have. And he came onto the scene as a catcher, became a pitcher, and 15-plus years later, he’s still pitching like this.”
But back in the present, Jansen is Boston’s lone All-Star, and that’s not an ideal look for the team.
As a rule, every team gets at least one All-Star. That shouldn’t discount Jansen’s achievements, but it’s worth noting that one player always gets to go.
The Red Sox haven’t been in this situation since 2015, when Brock Holt was their only representative at the midsummer contest. Since then, they’ve had at least three All-Stars each year.
There’s a case to be made that it’s more difficult for stellar players to gain recognition if they play for losing teams. That was certainly true in 2019, when Rafael Devers and Xander Bogaerts were named as reserves, while Jorge Polanco and Alex Bregman started at shortstop and third base, respectively.
In the first half of 2019, Bogaerts had homered, doubled, walked, scored, driven in more runs, and had better on-base, slugging, and OPS than Polanco. Devers was hitting .324 with a .546 slugging percentage and 112 hits, Bregman was way down at .265, and slugging .533 with 84 hits.
When the sum of the parts is successful, it paints the individuals in a better light. Polanco, a member of the AL Central champion 101-win Minnesota Twins, and Bregman of the 107-win, pennant-holding Houston Astros, may have seemed better than Bogaerts and Devers, who were playing on a team that would finish that season 84-78, after winning a franchise-record 108 regular season games and the World Series the year before.
This year, the case can be made that Devers, Alex Verdugo, and Chris Martin were likewise snubbed, their accomplishments clouded by the team’s last-place standing.
“They’re guys who are very deserving,” Bloom said. “I just want it for them, for them to get recognized. For us as an organization, we’re focused on other things, on what we need to accomplish. But I want it for them.”
The Red Sox chief baseball officer agrees that the team’s overall situation may have impacted the outcome of the All-Star roster.
“I think it’s possible (they were overlooked),” he said. “We have deserving players. I want them to get recognized, mainly for their sake.”
Bo Bichette, Vladimir Guerrero Jr, Whit Merrifield, and José Ramírez make up the infield reserves for Team American League. In a brutal twist of irony, the Red Sox improved to 7-0 against the Blue Jays this season; they completed the series sweep on Sunday, about an hour before it was announced that Toronto is sending three-quarters of their infield to the All-Star Game.
It’s been an inconsistent season for Devers, but there’s no doubt his power should’ve earned him more consideration. Entering Tuesday, his 20 home runs and 68 RBI are at least five and 14 more than any of the players who beat him out for a spot, respectively. He’s scored more runs than all but Ramírez, and is worth more Wins Above Replacement (1.8) than Merrifield and Guerrero Jr.
Merrifield, in particular, is a surprising choice. His .361 slugging percentage and .700 OPS are nearly 100 points lower than the others. He has more stolen bases than the others combined, but is at the bottom of the group in hits, doubles, and home runs; he’s only hit two this season.
Verdugo’s snub is arguably even more egregious. Yordan Alvarez, Adolis García, Austin Hays, and Luis Robert Jr. comprise the outfield reserves this summer, joining starters Mike Trout, Randy Arozarena, and Aaron Judge.
Compare the Red Sox right-fielder to the reserves, and he’s as much, if not a worthier selection. He outranks them all in hits (91), doubles (26), and triples (4). He’s second in batting average (.296), OBP (.363), and Win Probability Added (6.8), third-most in runs (53) and WAR (2.7), and has struck out (46) less than all of them by a wide margin.
With Judge and Alvarez both injured, there’s still a good possibility that Verdugo will be added to the All-Star roster, but that it should only happen because of another player’s injury is an unfair indicator of his worthiness.
Martin has been one of the best relievers in the game. Over 27 appearances totaling 26 innings, the 37-year-old southpaw owns a 1.73 ERA and 0.962 WHIP. Known for his ability to limit walks and the long ball, he’s held lineups to a meager .248 on-base percentage, 3.0 percent walk rate, and 1-percent home-run rate.
If that isn’t All-Star material, what is?
Ceddanne Rafaela made headlines last week when he earned a midseason promotion, and homered for his first Triple-A hit.
“The quality of the at-bats that he was having, he pushed himself up to Triple-A,” Bloom explained. “It became clear that it was time.”
The organization’s No. 3 prospect wasn’t happy to begin the Minor League Baseball season back in Double-A, but the Red Sox executive said he channeled that disappointment into improving himself.
“He understood why, but it was still tough. He embraced what we wanted him to do, but it’s tough not to get ahead of yourself.”
In many ways, Bloom says Rafaela could be a major leaguer now. His work in the outfield is already considered Gold Glove-level, and he often shows off his outrageous speed, including with a six-steal game early in the season.
“He just has a lot of different ways that he can impact the game. The defense speaks for itself, the defense is elite. And now he’s just down the road (in Worcester).”