TAMPA — Left-hander James Paxton, the Yankees’ return in their one big offseason trade, showed off his talents to team officials during Friday’s spring training practice.
Just before noon, the 6-foot-5, 235-pound Canadian stepped on a mound underneath the right-field stands at Steinbrenner Field for a bullpen session caught by starting catcher Gary Sanchez.
It’s believed Paxton threw between 25-to-30 pitches while rotation mate Masahiro Tanaka threw a bullpen to catcher Kyle Higashioka on a mound that was a few feet to his left.
Watch our NJ Advance Media video above to see a few pitches from Paxton, who was acquired from the Seattle Mariners on Nov. 19 for three prospects: Triple-A left-hander Justus Sheffield, Triple-A righty Erik Swanson and high-A outfielder Dom Thompson-Williams.
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It’s not easy to get video of these bullpen sessions due to screened fences, but we found a little hole to shoot a few pitches.
Paxton, 30, is expected to be slotted into the Yankees’ No. 2 rotation spot between two righties, ace Luis Severino and Tanaka. He was 11-6 with a 3.76 ERA last season in 28 starts, one of them a no-hitter.
Friday’s workout was the second of the spring for Yankees’ pitchers and catchers. The only absentee in the early days is reliever Dellin Betances, who will report on Monday after spending the week back home in New Jersey with his wife, who gave birth to the couple’s first child on Thursday, a born named Dellin Jr.
The big news of the Yankees’ camp on Friday was Severino signing a four-year, $40-million contract on a day he had been scheduled to take on the club in a salary arbitration hearing in St. Petersburg, Fla.
Yankees position players are due to report for physicals on Monday, then go through their first practice on Tuesday.
Randy Miller may be reached at rmiller@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @RandyJMiller. Find NJ.com on Facebook.