As you’ve no doubt seen by now, James Paxton’s been dealt to the Yankees for a package of three prospects, headed by SP Justus Sheffield. We can quibble with the deal – boy can we ever! – but ultimately, moving Paxton had to be done if the club didn’t see a way to meaningfully compete in 2019.
Interestingly, at least to me, is that the M’s don’t see that pathway now, even though they look, for the most part, like they did a year ago. They thought they could compete in 2018 despite a lot of people telling them they couldn’t.