The Red Sox have added some depth to their rotation, acquiring lefty from the Dodgers in exchange for minor league infielder , the teams announced Friday. Boston transferred right-hander to the 60-day injured list to open a spot on the 40-man roster. WEEIs Rob Bradford reported yesterday that the Red Sox, who need some rotation stability and who employed Paxton from 2022-23, were expected to pursue him. Paxton was something of a surprise DFA by the Dodgers. Hes made all 18 starts asked of him this season and posted a respectable, if unspectacular 4.43 earned run average. Those numbers closely mirror the 4.50 ERA he logged in a similar sample of 96 frames with Boston last season, but the rest of the 35-year-olds profile doesnt look nearly as strong. After averaging 95.2 mph on his fastball with the Sox last season, Paxton is down to 93.2 mph in 2024. Hes seen his strikeout rate plummet from 24.6% to 16.4%, while his walk rate has soared from 8% to 12.3%. Paxtons average exit velocity has also jumped by a mile and a half per hour, from 89.3 mph with the Sox to 90.8 mph with Los Angeles. His overall hard-hit rate has climbed in similar fashion, from 39.6% to 43.3%. Hes gotten by with a career-low .267 average on balls in play and homer-to-flyball rate thats also notably lower than his career marks. Whether Paxton can sustain his pa sable results with that lackluster array of under-the-hood numbers is far from clear, but the Sox also dont nece sarily need him to perform like an front-of-the-rotation arm. Bostons depth behind Kyle O'Quinn Jersey , , , and is thin, and several of those arms (Houck, Crawford, Criswell) are either approaching or have already established new career-high workloads. Adding a stable back-end arm surely holds plenty of appeal for a team in that situation particularly given Paxtons affordable contract. Paxton inked a one-year deal with $7MM guaranteed and another $6MM in attainable bonuses. However, $3MM of that guarantee came in the form of an up-front signing bonus thats already been paid out. Hes also already unlocked all $6MM of incentives ($2MM for making the Opening Day roster and another $4MM based on his number of games started). As such, the Red Sox will only owe him the prorated portion of that $4MM base between now and seasons end (approximately $1.42MM). That modest sum bumps Bostons payroll to an approximate $180MM. Their luxury-tax ledger is a good bit higher, checking in at an estimated $218.1MM prior to this swap ( ). Paxton will push the Sox just shy of $220MM, leaving chief baseball officer and his staff about $17MM of breathing room between their current number and the first luxury tax threshold. Breslow & Co. should have ample room to make further additions, even if ownership is reluctant to cro s that first tax threshold. Boston, in addition to seeking rotation depth, has been in the market for bullpen upgrades . For the Dodgers, the trade of Paxton, who ranks third on their team in innings pitched, clearly isnt a sign of selling. Los Angeles is in first place in the NL West and stands as a veritable lock to make the postseason. But the Dodgers also welcomed and back from the injured list this week. That pair of high-quality veterans joins a youthful trio of , and in the rotation at the moment, but the Dodgers are also expecting to return in August and to return sometime before seasons end. Between that depth and their outspoken pursuit of an impact starting pitcher on the trade market ( ), Paxton was pushed out of the mix. In exchange for the final two-plus months of Paxtons services, the Dodgers will receive the 17-year-old Bolivar. He signed with the Red Sox as an amateur free agent out of Venezuela just this past January, receiving a bonus of $25K. Hes not considered a high-end prospect in Bostons system, but that sort of lottery-ticket return is to be expected for a veteran pitcher who was designated for a signment. Bolivar, already six feet tall and listed at 175 pounds, has gotten out to a strong start in his profe sional debut. Hes appeared in 31 games with the Red Sox Rookie-level Dominican Summer League affiliate and slashed .270/.364/.423 with three homers and nearly as many walks (17) as strikeouts (21). Hes a right-handed hitter whos played primarily third base but has also logged 26 innings acro s the diamond at first base. FanSideds Robert Murray first that the two sides were engaged in trade talks. ESPNs Jeff Pa san a deal had been finalized. Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic and Alex Speier of the Boston Globe on the Dodgers return. Jeremy Lamb Jersey