James Shields: The five teams that need him the most
The list looks pretty barren these days. With Max Scherzer deciding to join the Washington Nationals, the free agent class of 2014 is now almost void of star power.
Role players and possible international imports are about all that’s left on our own Jeff Passan’s Ultimate Free Agent tracker.
Except one star: James Shields.
With Scherzer in D.C. and Jon Lester in Chicago, it’s Shields who is the last of the three big pitchers on the market. Then it’s quite a drop off — to Ryan Vogelsong, who rumor has it, might be close to signing with the Houston Astros. After that? The next best starter is Kyle Kendrick.
That leaves Shields in quite a position. He won’t get Lester or Scherzer money, that’s for sure, but his market has been kind of weird. There was that surprising report that he had a $110 million offer on the table from a mystery team. But then a follow-up said Shields didn’t want to play for that team, and that his price might come down.
It all sounds a bit like salesmanship, but that’s how the free-agent game is played sometimes. So where might Shields be going? That is still anyone’s guess, but it’s obviously going to be a team that realizes it needs more this season than Vogelsong or Kendrick. There are things to wary of with Shields — he’s thrown a lot of innings already, plus he’s not a prototypical ace and his price might be high considering those two things. But there’s still plenty of interest.
The Milwaukee Brewers and Detroit Tigers are two teams that have been mentioned a lot in the past 24 hours — the Brewers because they just traded Yovani Gallardo and the Tigers because Scherzer went to the Nats. But they didn’t crack our top 5 of teams that need Shields the most.
But as we see it, there are a number of teams that would benefit from Shields. Some might not make a run at him, others might be waiting to see what his cost truly is, one might just get him. But all five of these teams — if they’re serious about making a strong run in 2015 — could really use Shields.
1. Boston Red Sox: The Red Sox spent a lot of money already this offseason to rebound from their disappointing 2014. They signed Hanley Ramirez and Pablo Sandoval, two of the top free-agent bats. To fix their rotation, they chased Jon Lester, but traded for Rick Porcello and Wade Miley when Lester went to the Cubs. Many of us thought the Red Sox might be the team to swoop in and throw a ton of money at Max Scherzer, but they didn’t. With Porcello, Miley, Clay Buchholz, Joe Kelly and free-agent signee Justin Masterson, Boston has an OK rotation, but could still use another frontline starter. Again, Shields isn’t an ace like Lester or Scherzer, but if the Red Sox are set on winning again in 2015, their current rotation might not do it.
2. Toronto Blue Jays: The Blue Jays are a lot like the Red Sox — they made a couple nice moves to upgrade their offense (getting Josh Donaldson and Russell Martin), but they still could use some pitching help. The Blue Jays might stand pat and roll with the rotation they have, which includes the ever-dependable Mark Buehrle, knuckleballer R.A. Dickey and youngsters Marcus Stroman and Drew Hutchinson. Or they could prioritize their bullpen with whatever cash they have left. But they sure would look nicer on paper with James Shields in the rotation. The AL East, at the moment, seems like a toss up between the Jays and the Red Sox, if one of them can get Shields, that would swing the pendulum.
3. San Francisco Giants: Look around the National League and you’ll see the titans are loaded with pitching, that includes the Washington Nationals, the Los Angeles Dodgers and St. Louis Cardinals. It’s no surprise, either, that those were three of the four final teams in the postseason on the NL side. The other was the Giants, who won it all. The Giants’ pitching (aka Madison Bumgarner) was good enough to make that happen, but the rotation heads into 2015 with question marks — will Matt Cain be good again after season-ending surgery? How will Tim Hudson bounce back from surgery? Will Tim Lincecum be a disappointment yet again? You can see how Shields would be enticing. The Giants haven’t spent a lot of money this offseason. They’re still sitting on the checks they were willing to give Sandoval and Lester. Getting Shields isn’t essential for them, but in the NL arms race, it might be a good idea to get another weapon.
4. Miami Marlins: If you haven’t been paying attention, the Marlins have had a nice offseason. Nice enough that they could very well finish in second place in the NL East, ahead of the dismantled Braves, the so-so Mets and the sad Phillies. This, it seems, is the Marlins’ window. The Braves are eyeing 2017 and the Mets are getting better, so it’s not a huge window. Might as well jump through, Miami. Shields could be a solid No. 2 starter there once Jose Fernandez returns and, along with Mat Latos and Henderson Alvarez, form a nice rotation. The Fish has been interested in Shields, so this could actually happen.
5. Chicago Cubs: No half measures, right? The Cubs want to win. That’s why they brought in Joe Maddon, why they signed Jon Lester, why they traded for Dexter Fowler and Miguel Montero. So why not make that pitching rotation legit and go get Shields. The Cubs would have a rotation of Lester, Shields, Jake Arrieta, Jason Hammel and Kyle Hendricks. Otherwise, it’s more Travis Wood and Edwin Jackson type of dudes. The Cubs, more than likely, will move forward with what they have and not sign Shields, but if you’re trying to defeat 106 years of history, might as well come fully armed.
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Mike Oz is an editor for Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter! Follow @MikeOz
