“The Big Maple” is about to leave the mound.
This time, on his terms.
Former Mariners pitcher James Paxton’s 11-year MLB career was pocked with injuries. A lat strain in 2014. A strained tendon on the middle finger of his pitching hand in 2015. Forearm and pectoral strains in 2017. Spinal surgery and a flexor tendon strain in 2020. A forearm strain and Tommy John surgery in 2021. A lat tear in 2022. A hamstring strain and knee inflammation in 2023. A calf tear in 2024. A paragraph of painful detours, each taking the former first-round draft pick further from his peak.
Despite the detours, Paxton went 73-41 with a 3.77 ERA and 1,005 strikeouts in 177 starts, before announcing his retirement in 2024. That included 583 2/3 innings, 619 strikeouts and a 3.42 ERA in seven seasons with Seattle. His most memorable moment as a Mariner came in 2018, when Paxton became the first Canadian to throw a no-hitter in his home country, blanking the Toronto Blue Jays in a 5-0 win. He also earned a World Series ring with the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2024.
“The Big Maple” left a mark. And after more than a year away from the mound, Paxton will cap his career by representing Canada in this month’s World Baseball Classic.
But one question — what could have been? — still echoes in his ears.
“I’m getting there,” Paxton told The Seattle Times on Thursday when asked if he’s at peace with his MLB career. “It is hard to look back at the time that I missed. I always kind of wonder what I could have been capable of if I hadn’t missed my prime. I was hurt from the point I was 31 to 34. I felt like I was just coming into myself in 2019 with the Yankees. I had some good years in ’17, ’18 [with the Mariners] and ’19 with the Yankees. Especially in that second half I felt like I really put things together, and then I got hurt and didn’t get to realize all that.
“But I think everything I went through is leading me to where I want to go next, which is mentoring players and working on the sports psychology side of the game. My experiences have really prepared me for that.”
It turns out, the detours took him to a different destination. Paxton retired primarily to spend more time with his wife, Katie, and two young kids. But he’s also finishing his undergraduate degree in business and culture at the University of Kentucky, taking online classes 16 years after leaving the university. Upon completing that degree, he’s considering pursuing a master’s in sports psychology.
Though he doesn’t want to work directly for an MLB team, Paxton plans to “consult, mentor players. I don’t really know what the path is going to look like, but I know I want to do something in that realm. I just want to see where it takes me.”
Before the detours and trades and setbacks, his career took him to Seattle.
Which is where he stayed.
Paxton and his wife bought a house in the Seattle area in 2020 and continue to raise their kids there. The 6-foot-4 southpaw said: “Seattle welcomed me with open arms. I really felt the love from the fan base in Seattle. I always felt appreciated. I gave it my all there. It’s just a place we love. We made a lot of great friends in Seattle. We’re happy to call it our home now.”
That’s also where his WBC story starts. When he was invited to join Team Canada this winter, Paxton “hadn’t picked up a baseball for over a year.” He knocked the rust off his 37-year-old arm at Athletic Training Institute in Bellevue, where artificial turf sprouts out of a wall to protect from Paxton.
“They put up a turf wall for me, because I started chipping away at the cement a couple years ago,” Paxton said with a laugh. “I was throwing against the cement wall and they were like, ‘Hey, we’ve got to protect our wall.’ The guys next door are a turfing company, so they put some turf up on the wall to protect the wall from my fastballs.”
What’s better than throwing a ball against a wall?
Playing catch with a fellow former Mariner.
Paxton trained this winter with Marco Gonzales, the 34-year-old southpaw who signed a minor-league deal last month with the San Diego Padres.
“He actually lives a couple blocks from me [in the Seattle area],” Paxton said of Gonzales. “So our families are close, and him and I keep in touch a lot. We started playing catch, because he was coming back and getting ready to play this season. He was my throwing buddy this offseason. We were able to go to the park and throw a little bit, help each other out and get ready together.”
Ready or not, Paxton’s finale is about to begin. On Saturday, Canada opened its WBC slate in San Juan, Puerto Rico, beating Colombia 8-2. But first, Paxton returned to the mound Wednesday in a 5-3 exhibition win over the Philadelphia Phillies. His first pitch — a 91.3-mph, four-seam fastball — was bombarded by third baseman Alec Bohm for a 382-foot homer. In all, he surrendered two hits, a walk and two earned runs in an eventful inning, before former Mariner Dylan Moore hit into a double play. His fastball, which once flirted with triple digits, topped out at 93 mph.
Still, Paxton sees the positives.
“Didn’t get the results I wanted, but the ball felt good coming out of my hand,” he said. “I threw some breaking balls for strikes. For my first time being on a mound and facing hitters in over a year, it felt pretty good. I told them I’m ready for whatever they need me to do. My last live BP I threw like 80 pitches, so I’m built up. They can use me any way I can help the team best.”
When it comes to Team Canada, Paxton is here to help.
That offer does not extend beyond the WBC.
“It’d be flattering [if MLB teams inquired], but my days are done with Major League Baseball,” he said. “I’m just really excited to be out here doing it again for fun and trying to help the team any way I can. But I think my impact on the game is going to look different from here on out.”
Paxton’s path was undoubtedly different than he hoped. But it provided a second home in Seattle and a perspective that will positively impact players long after he leaves the mound.
Sometimes, the detours take you where you need to be.
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