The Boston Red Sox upgraded their starting rotation on Friday, landing James Paxton in a deal with the Los Angeles Dodgers.

The Red Sox announced they acquired Paxton in exchange for minor-league infielder Moises Bolivar.

Paxton wasn't going to be on the Dodgers much longer after he was designated for assignment on Monday. The move came after the team called up River Ryan from Triple-A and was set to get Clayton Kershaw back from injury.

Kershaw made his first start of the season on Thursday against the San Francisco Giants. He allowed two runs and struck out six over four innings in a 6-4 win.

Being designated for assignment means the Dodgers had seven days to trade Paxton or he would have been released.

Even though Paxton isn't having a great season, his contract and the need for pitching across the league made it seem likely that a trade would come together. The 35-year-old signed a one-year, $7 million deal with Los Angeles in January.

Paxton is only owed around $2.5 million for the remainder of the season. He has been inconsistent with a 4.43 ERA and an NL-high 48 walks over 89.1 innings in 28 starts for the Dodgers.

The Red Sox's move for Paxton came as they have been looking for someone behind Tanner Houck and Kutter Crawford who can give them innings. Brayan Bello, who signed a six-year extension in the offseason, has disappointed with a 5.27 ERA in 18 starts.

Nick Pivetta's 3.79 FIP and 102 strikeouts in 84 innings are encouraging, but his 1.61 homers allowed per nine innings is the seventh-worst mark in MLB among all pitchers with at least 80 innings.

Trading for Paxton didn't cost the Red Sox much in terms of money or prospect capital. He offers manager Alex Cora another starting option to choose from as he tries to piece together a rotation over the final two months of the regular season.

Boston (54-47) enters play on Friday just one game behind the Kansas City Royals for the final wild card spot in the AL.