The Yankees land James Paxton in the trade and send their best hopes to the sailors

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"I could not be more excited about it," Paxton said Monday. "It's going to be a fantastic opportunity in New York, always hoping to win, as I do, I'm looking forward to being part of a fantastic team."

This decision reinforces the Yankees' lean starting rotation, which contributed to the defeat of New York in the AL Division series against eventual World Series champion, the Red Sox. He joins a rotation that should include right-handers Luis Severino and Masahiro Tanaka and left-handed CC Sabathia.

Managing Director Brian Cashman wants to add at least one other starter, addressing the short-term opening created by Didi Gregorius' elbow surgery and adding it to his pen. He is aggressively pursuing outside shots, even after Sonny Gray escaped for a season and a third with New York, shaken by repeated boos at Yankee Stadium.

"I can not tell you that we have learned anything other than to dig to the full, whether with players who have played with a teammate we know or with coaches who have coached or with people who have succeeded or who whatever, whether it's all the way into the amateur ranks, "said Cashman. "We're just trying to ask a lot of questions about how they're competing, and that environment can bring a different experience to some people, so I do not have a new secret formula for dealing with predictability about who's going to prosper and to survive and who does not go here in New York. "

Paxton earned $ 4.9 million last season and is eligible for pay arbitration. He can become a free agent after the 2020 season.

"I think I'll be fine, they seem very determined to win, and so am I," said Paxton.

Paxton is 41-26 in six major league seasons, making six trips to the list of people with disabilities in the last five years. He missed nearly four months with a large left dorsal muscle stretched in 2014, 3 and a half months with a left tendon tendon of left middle finger in 2015, 10 days with a left elbow bruised in 2016, 3 and a half weeks with a left forearm stretched and one month with a left pectoral muscle stretched in 2017, and 2½ weeks with lower back inflammation this year.

"I keep trying to stay healthy for a whole season," he said. "All the injuries I've had did not happen again, I've learned to make sure it does not happen again with exercise or anything else." . "

When he went to Triple-A two years ago, he worked with former Big League pitcher, Lance Painter, who told him to bring the angle of arms back to the three quarters. When Paxton returned to the Mariners, he studied the swings in play with pitching coach Mel Stottlemyre Jr.

"It took me a little longer, I think in my career because I had so much free time," said Paxton. "But having these big pieces in recent years has really helped me to flourish and make great strides, and I look forward to continuing to make great progress in my game. And I think that my best baseball is still coming. "

A proud Canadian born in a fishing village on the outskirts of Vancouver, British Columbia, Paxton is also known for his coolness as a bald eagle who accidentally landed on his shoulder before he left. for Minnesota in April.

Meanwhile, Seattle decided to rebuild after a 89-73 record and a third place finish in the AL West, 14 games away from Houston and six from Oakland's back.

"It is clear that we have chosen 2019 to be a year back, hoping to make two," said General Manager Jerry Dipoto. "When I say 2020 and 2021, it only measures the age of the players we build here."

Sheffield, an Indian first-round pick in 2014, is the Yankees' main prospect and made her Major League debut in September with three relief appearances.