Mariners Place James Paxton On 10-Day DL

The Mariners have placed top lefty James Paxton on the 10-day DL, per a club announcement. He is dealing with a strained left pectoral muscle. Young starter Andrew Moore has been recalled to take the open roster spot.

Paxton is expected to miss at least three weeks of action, per Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times (via Twitter). That’s a significant blow for the M’s, who are already dealing with other pitching injuries while trying to edge out numerous other competitors for a Wild Card spot.

Losing Paxton, though, is about more than just the need to find a serviceable replacement. He has emerged as one of the game’s top starters this year, throwing 119 2/3 innings of 2.78 ERA ball with 10.4 K/9 and 2.5 BB/9 to go with a 47.2% groundball rate. Seattle will go without the player who has easily been its best this year — at just about the worst possible time.

Unfortunately, there’ may not be much that the Mariners can do but dip into the farm and hope for the best. While the August trade market could still hold some possibilities, the best among them will be costly. Given the prior additions the club has made, it’s far from clear how much appetite there is to take on more salary or sacrifice additional prospects.