Paxton (back) may be cleared to begin a throwing program Wednesday, Kristie Ackert of the New York Daily News reports.
Paxton's recovery from Feb. 5 surgery to remove a peridiscal cyst from his back looks to be coming along quicker than anticipated. Though Paxton was initially handed a 3-to-4-month recovery timeline, the fact that the lefty is on the brink of throwing just over a month into his rehab program offers hope that he could meet his goal of being ready to pitch in games by early May. Paxton will still have multiple checkpoints to clear before he's even deemed ready to make a minor-league rehab start, but his progression to date has been encouraging.