Philadelphia Phillies rumors: 3 free agents to sign and 1 to avoid this offseason

The Yankees gave up some of their best prospects in order to pry Paxton away from the Seattle Mariners, as they thought the Canadian southpaw was the perfect hard-throwing piece to finally complete their rotation. However, Paxton earned fairly mixed reviews with the Yankees. While he was excellent in the second half of 2019 and posted a 3.82 ERA during the 2019 season, he struggled with injuries in both seasons, had notorious struggles with giving up runs in the first inning, and saw his trademark heater take a sizeable dip in velocity. Still, at just 32 years old, Paxton will likely look for a multi-year deal in free agency.

The Phillies could look add more starting pitching this offseason, which is never a bad idea. However, they should stay far away from Paxton. His injury problems are not a one-year problem, as he has never started 30 games in a season in his career. Furthermore, a pitcher that lives and dies by his fastball velocity and how he can use that heater to set up his breaking ball, a sharp decline in velocity last year should set off alarm bells. There are pitchers on the market Philly should consider, but Paxton is not one of them given the multitude of reg flags surrounding him.