The fantasy baseball season is in full swing and one of the top sleepers had a scare, as James Paxton had to leave his start on Tuesday night with an arm strain, while Matt Moore was placed on the DL with an injury and that makes this week's top free agent waiver additions and pickups Yangervis Solarte and Jake Odorizzi.
Solarte is expected to get more playing time with Mark Teixeira injured, as Kelly Johnson will move over to first base and that means Solarte will get time at third. Odorizzi got his first major league win this week and now that Moore is out of the rotation, he will get a bump up and he is an option for anyone that owns the Rays pitcher and is now scrambling for a replacement. The Paxton news was scary for owners and Mariners fans alike, but after the game he said that it did not appear to be serious.
According to My northwest and writer Shannon Drayer, Paxton will have an MRI to take a look at his arm to see how serious it is and he said afterwards that he was not worried. The Mariners can ill-afford to lose another pitcher, as both Taijuan Walker and Hisashi Iwakuma are coming back from injuries and that has put a squeeze on the rotation. Paxton is not set to pitch again until Sunday and the results of the MRI will determine what manager Lloyd McClendon decides to do.
Paxton came out of the game in the sixth inning and he had the lead and it came after he "tweaked" his arm in the previous inning. Paxton was facing Mike Trout when he left the game and he returned to the mound after the fifth inning after he said that it felt okay in between innings in the dugout and he was taken out of the game as a precaution. The Mariners could survive this week since they skipper Chris Young in the rotation, so he should be able to step in if Paxton cannot make his next start. There has also been promising news on Walker, who has been working out and pitching in the minors and he could be back with the team within two weeks.
The 25-year-old was stellar to start the season after shutting out the Angels in his first start and now he has won two games in a row over the team and the Mariners are undefeated against the team for the time being. Paxton has had a short career so far, but the results have been stellar, as he is 2-0 with a 2.25 ERA on the season and 5-0 with a 1.75 ERA in his six career starts and after giving up two early home runs to David Freese and Albert Pujols, Paxton settled in and got things going for the Mariners, who took the lead on a Corey Hart home run. Solarte has been solid to start the season, including last week when he went 3 for 3 with a double and an RBI single and he should be a solid pick up until the injured players come back.
"I don't think it's going to be a big deal," he said. "It's not real pain. Just a little soreness."
