With Zack Greinke and Cole Hamels off the market, clubs could turn to Rays right-hander James Shields for pitching help at the trade deadline. The 30-year-old owns a 4.52 ERA this year but finished third in the Cy Young Award voting just last season. There are club options for 2013 ($9MM) and 2014 ($12MM) in his contract, so Shields offers a ton of flexibility. Here are today's rumors on Tampa's Opening Day starter, with the latest up top…
- The Cardinals also have interest in Shields according to Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com. He says the Rays seek a package "north of Greinke" in return.
- Rival executives believe more and more that the Rays will trade Shields prior to the deadline according to ESPN's Buster Olney (on Twitter).
- The Braves, Dodgers, Indians, and Rangers are among the clubs with the most interest in Shields, according to Marc Topkin of The Tampa Bay Times. The Angels had interest but are presumably out of the running after acquiring Greinke.
I don’t know why the Braves name even gets mentioned, if he costs over $5.00 we won’t go after him.
5 bucks? So that means that we won’t be going after anyone? Shucks.
Well you did get Miguel Bautista….
he said over 5 bucks.
Right. My bad.
all jokes aside(i guess) if the rays would take a realistic package for shields i wouldnt be a bit upset if he came to the braves. i think pitching in the n.l. then with quiet a few division games left he would do fine. i dont want to get ahead of things but big ben is looking great so if he holds up, and huddy keeps going strong a front three of shields,sheets and hudson is not so bad. with any luck uggla starts hitting home runs(dont expect his average to do much) and getting simmons back will be a pretty good line up to compete in the playoffs
Braves have the 2nd best RS in the NL, ignoring Colorado of course. Their line-up has been good all season, even with streaky hitters and injuries. Braves really need 3 guys they can trust in the post-season and I don’t know how they evaluate Hanson right now.
We have the prospects to deal for a big name and the money to extend the right headliner. Why wouldn’t every name be tied to that?
Shields is no ace, but the Rays are probably going to want an ace-like haul in return. The Rays will be in no hurry to part with Shields either, as they are still very much in the WC race and have two years of team control left over Shields. With Greinke off the market, Shields market price just went up a bit too. All in all, I don’t think Shields is going to be worth the haul that will be needed to get him.
Agreed. If I was a betting man, I would bet that Shields, Garza and Johnson all stay put. Then teams will have to rely on the Liriano’s of the world.
Although this doesn’t go against your that guys argument, don’t you think the AL WC Race is too tight to ignore a decent haul for a spot that isn’t a top priority. Rays may be able to get a lot for Shields now, but next year, might not be as much unless he pitches Dempster like. Then again the Rays love to keep their arms, just look what happened to the Braves this year.
I’d agree Shields doesn’t have the upside of Cole Hamels or Zack Greinke, but with two years of control at a good price for what he should give you, I could see him being even more valuable than either of those two in terms of what he should bring back. Get Shields for the rest of this year plus his age 31+32 seasons and let him walk or get Greinke, hope for a deep playoff run and let him walk or pay him $100m+…And now that trading teams can’t even get draft compensation for guys like Greinke, I’d be surprised if GM’s didn’t think Shields value of a rental ace. (I know Greinke was already traded, just using his name as an example.)
I think Shields would be a great addition. The guy has put up solid numbers pitching in the AL East. Imagine what he could do in a less stressful division. Go for it Frank!!!
i second that motion
Ain’t worth the price. Shields is great when he’s good, but terrible when he’s bad. When you pay some of these this much – he’s not making a massive amount – you pay for consistency, and he’s not that. AL East or NL East. I don’t subscribe to the theory that he’ll be that much better whatever division he plays in.
I think he could be a top of the line starter in the N.L. In the A.L. though, he’s not going to be any better than he is right now. Just take a look at the back of his baseball card and you will find out that last season was a career year.
The indians are not a match they lack the pieces to make a deal happen IMHO they will not trade Lindor / Howard or Barnes their #1 – 3 guys and view Aguilar / Colan and Paulino as untouchable at the lower levels so I just see the indians running in place for the next 3 to 4 seasons continuing to sign the Damons / Duncans / Kotchman and Hannahans of the world while they waiting on the next wave of Prospects to make it to the majors so I do not view the Indians a real threat to the Central until that happens.
Choo and Chris Perez both go to Arby again and could at least double their salary this offseason thus coming close to pricing themselves out of the Cleveland market so both could either be dealt by the deadline or in the offseason. JMHO
Another Indians rebuild is on the horizan.
Why aren’t the White Sox after this guy? A deal like this could happen.
Chicago gets:
Shields and Rodney
Tampa gets:
Reed, Nestor Molina(#1 prospect), Nate Jones, Jaredd Mitchell and Phil Humber.
I doubt they would trade Rodney when he has a cheap option left.
Rodney? Urrrrhmmmm no. You give us Sale then
No way the Rays would do that.
Being number one prospect for the White Sox isn’t really a ringing endorsement. The Rays aren’t going to trade Shields for a good young reliever and a pupu platter of spare parts, let alone throw in Rodney when his value is peaking.
I’m guessing the Rays can do better than that
my guess is to the Braves it would start with Randall Delgado, Joey Terdoslavich, Jose Peraza, and a low level prospect. Rays get 5 years of cost controlled Delgado, a switch hitting 1B in Terdoslavich, a SS prospect in Peraza, and someone else that can develop. Exactly the kind of deal that Friedman makes.
We aren’t trading Reed he has a chance to an All Star type closer
Really? THAT’S your takeaway? That you wouldn’t trade a young reliever for a starter under team control?
LOL a package “just north” of the Greinke deal for a guy who’s nowhere close to Greinke talent wise. This market is outrageous!
Shields has more years of control below market rate. If you trade for Greinke, you don’t even get a draft pick at the end of the year. While Greinke is a better pitcher, Shields is a much, much more valuable commodity.
The Rays will get what they ask for Shields or nobody is getting him. No GM is going to persuade Friedman to do anything, the guy is one of the best in the business.
If the Rangers want to dance how about a straight up Shields for Profar trade?
Would love a deal with the Cardinals. Get Shields out of the AL and get a good return of prospects back.
I think a trade for Shields would work out for the Cards. He’d be a decent add for the rotation and it could also open up an opportunity to move either Lynn or Kelly to the pen. That would knock out two birds with one stone. I think the Cards have the prospects to get a deal done but hopefully they won’t have to pay too high to get Complete Game James