MLB Rumors: Mystery Looms Over James Shields
Christopher Hanewinckel – USA TODAY Sports
It’s the end of January, and all of the eligible MLB free agents have found their homes for the 2015 season. Well, not everybody. James Shields is still without a team, and pitchers and catchers report in 19 days.
What is taking so long to sign a pitcher who many thought would be one of the top free-agent grabs of the season? The reasons are endless, but one reason in particular stands out, and it may be unfairly penalizing him. To understand where we are at the moment, let’s rewind.
The Kansas City Royals were widely expected to lose Shields following the 2014 campaign, but the Royals then made an improbable run through the postseason on the way to a seven-game loss in the World Series against the San Francisco Giants.
Shields had pitched in the postseason before with the Tampa Bay Rays, but he was 2-2 in the team’s 2008 postseason when the Rays lost to the Philadelphia Phillies in the World Series. He then lost starts in the 2010 and 2011 AL Division Series, and he was 1-2 with the Royals last postseason.
The end result is a 3-6 record and a 5.46 playoff earned run average. That’s not exactly the type of stats you look for in a dominant free-agent hurler.
Shields will have his audience. The St. Louis Cardinals, Toronto Blue Jays and Houston Astros are among the teams that were kicking the tires on Shields. But Shields won’t get his $110 million or $120 million, and he may have to settle for $70-80 million instead.
Shields just turned 33 in December, so any five or six-year deal would cover him into his late 30′s – the time when arms begin to break down. That is a fair assessment. To penalize Shields because he didn’t exactly have a stellar postseason is another story. He is still one of baseball’s top pitchers and he should get a solid payday.
Why is Shields getting penalized for having an average postseason? He should be getting a decent salary, but which team pays it will be the mystery. For now, Shields isn’t signed, and the questions are lingering.
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