Both the Tigers and Angels have interest in Rays right-hander James Shields according to Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com. The two teams scouted his start yesterday and are known to be seeking pitching upgrades. Heyman reiterates that Tampa is looking for a young catcher and pitching help in any deal.
Shields, 30, has seen his ERA rise to 4.39 this year, more than a run and a half higher than last season. He leads the league in hits allowed but remains a dependable innings-eater with strong strikeout (8.5 K/9) and walk (2.7 BB/9) rates. Shields is owed $7MM this year with a $9MM club option for 2013 and an $11MM club option for 2014, so he's very affordable.
Heyman notes (on Twitter) that the Tigers appear to be prioritizing second base help at the moment. Detroit's win this afternoon moved them into first place in the AL Central, but their non-Justin Verlander starters have a 4.82 ERA on the season. The Angels have received excellent work from Jered Weaver and C.J. Wilson, but Dan Haren has dealt with a back issue and Ervin Santana has struggled.
Shields would be a terrific middle rotation arm for the angels
I don’t think either team has what it would take to get Shield prospect-wise…TB likes high-end pitching prospects, and I am betting that is what would interest them…
Seriously? Must be a TB fan.
Haywood1 is right. Tropicanna Field is a pitchers’ park. The team’s
strength lies in pitching, then defense, then small ball. Back at 2008,
2010, and 2011, the Rays were consistently amongst the best teams at
preventing runs (i.e. very few runs allowed).
Thus I suspect GM Friedman to pursue high end pitching prospects, and
perhaps some good catching prospect as well. Don’t forget, the Rays also
have a pretty deep farm, so only the high end prospects would be of
interest.
That being said, I think Detroit *should* able to land Shields if they
offered Turner, but I’m unsure if GM Dombrowski is comfortable with that
decision.
As for the Angels, I doubt the Angels have the prospects to get Shields. Major-league talent would need to be sacrificed…
The Angels easily have the talent for Shields but the fit maynot be right as, either way i wouldn’t trade Kaleb Cowart unless it was for a star
Its been reported they want a catcher and/or pitching prospects..you’re not going to get a top pitching prospect for Shields, when he’s owed all that money..
All that money? He’s owed 7 million dollars this season, and he has to CLUB options. Meaning the club can decline if they want to. Also those options are for 9 and 11 million respectively. Not a lot at all. If Justin Verlander didn’t have a historic season last year Shields would have been the Cy Young winner. That money is nothing in todays game.
Jered Weaver disagrees
Shields is scheduled to face the Angels next weekend so one of their scouts being there last night isn’t a big surprise.
Wonder if a turner, McCann, Rondon package gets it done… He’d look solid in detroits rotation
Wanna throw in Cabrera and Fielder too?
it should be like crosby/smyly and brantly/mccann not turner mccann and rondon..
Ahhh NO!!
Rondon should not be traded under any circumstance. He is an in-house replacement for Valverde going forward at a very affordable price. MLB minimum vs. the $9mm that Valverde hauls down.
Agreed i’d be very sad if he was moved. Huge arm with a nasty slider. He’s been unhittable in the minor leagues and his stuff translates VERY well in the bigs.
he may pitch like valverde but is going to be better and cheaper. bring him up!
How about Crosby and Brantley for Shields?
That sounds about right.
Thats doesn’t sound like enough for Friedman. Whether you think it’s fair value or not, yo have to remember who you’re dealing with(Andrew Friedman).
Turner and Castellanos for Stanton?
I’m real hesitant in trading Castellnos but if it’s Stanton were talking about I will throw money in as well for his plane ticket
not even close for stanton. you’re talking entire farm systems here.
Castellanos and Turner are the base of that package. Of course the Tigers would have to include some other players, maybe even Boesch.
Shields gonna cost tigers smyly or turner and holiday and 2 mid to high prospects Oliver/Crosby/ or Garcia
Conger, Segura and Mills for three years of Shields is a deal I could live with. Conger is young enough to turn it around but the Angels no longer seem willing to give him chances, Segura is blocked long term and there’s nothing to lose in a player like Mills whom we got for nothing anyways.
I can’t speak too much about Segura and Mills other than just what i’ve heard from others, but if the Rays want quality young catchers Conger is not a guy they’d be too interested in.
When you have no long term solutions in the middle infield, making Segura the centerpiece of a deal, Conger isn’t a terrible addition.
What about Lee or Beckham? Beckham and Segura are the same age. Let’s compare their AA numbers (beckham at a year younger last year)
Segura: .294/.346/.404 7hr 33 sb 374 abs
Beckham: .271/.328/.408 12hr 17 sb 524 abs (split between AA and AAA and played those levels at a year younger than Segura)
Clearly Segura is more well regarded, but I think that has to do more with defense. Beckham is hurt, but he did reach AAA at age 21.
Bourjos, Conger, and Richards would get it done. Rays throw in some money as well. Rays can then move Upton to someone like the Nationals.
That sounds about right, though I hope that’s not what ends up happening.
I doubt the Rays will throw in money, but that looks like a good deal for them. A bit of overpay from the Angels.
I have got to say, I am a bit of a Angels fan but I am not sold Richards will be a starter long term, he really lacks a third pitch that he can get swings and misses on, neither the curve or change are good enough. Obviously the Angels need rotation help so they won’t send him to pen or back down. He has been largely lucky so far this year and soon it will turn bad i would guess.
Screw Mills, how about Cron. Rays need power in the system, and he would be great.
How in the world would the Rays ever agree to this? That wouldn’t even be enough to land a half year rental pitcher. Imagine this trade: Dan Haren to the O’s for Schoop, Eveland, and Exposito. Does that sound like a fair trade???!! Over the next year and a half Haren will cost around 21.5 million, and will come with a single draft pick sandwiched between the first and second round. Over the next 2 and one half years Shields will cost 24.5 million and also comes with a sandwich pick. Shields is also more than a year younger. The two are very similar pitchers so I believe this is a fair comparison.
No team has better minor league catching depth than Detroit. Curt Casali and a Brian Flynn type pitcher maybe.
Does Maddon have a man crush on Conger like Scioscia did on Mathis?
I would consider a Turner, Crosby, and Brantly plus cash for Shields. then turn around and get either Infante (former Tiger) or Barney.
No way Dave D gives that much for a guy having an off year. See also the jack and squat he gave up last year for Fister.
This is different though. Last year there was only one wild card thus only 4-5 teams had a shot at the playoffs (LAA, TEX, DET, CHI, BOS, TB and NYY that seven seven and three were divison leaders) Now, with the extra WC almost evryone “could consider themselves” buyers expect SEA. and MIN. Different circumstances for different years…
I would rather have Hellickson, better, younger, cheaper
Younger and cheaper yes. Better, no.
Who wouldn’t? But it would take more than Shields to get.
People keep forgetting that Detroit has a draft pick to trade. I think that gives them an advantage.
If iwas dave dombrowski i would give Tampa Casey Crosby/Rob Brantly/Danny Worth/Luis Marte for James Shields and Jeff Keppinger solves two problems in one deal we get a game changing starter when he has his good stuff and a decent second baseman also dont have to give up Turner
Wonder what Izturis would get us in return if we were to trade him to the Tigers? Just asing? Also either Shields or Lirano should be whom we are to try and acquire. Let’s go Angels!!!
Shields is a good pitcher, but not the right fit for the Tigers. He’s allowed the most hits in the league with the Rays above average defense behind him. Idk how well he’d fare with the Tigers’ well below average defense.
Hi my name is Justin Verlander and I’m the best pitcher of “this” generation.
better through in Weaver too and it would be a fair deal.
no actualky verlander is the best pitcher of the last two years. roy halladay is easily the best pitcher of “this” generation…
but they want a young catcher and a young pitcher. It’s clear that Conger does not have a future with the Angels as long as Scioscia is manager. You are way to high on those guys. Shields is a proven AL East starter that is pretty cheap and can be a big game pitcher down the stretch. Segura is a better prospect than Richards and although he is blocked, he still adds depth to the organization and can be used later in a trade or take over after someone else is traded. And please tell me why the heck the Rays would want Mills.
Why the heck would the Rays want Mills? This is a #1 or #2 starter in the AL east with 2 1/2 very affordable years and you get a draft pick if you don’t resign him! My trade might be actually too light for the Rays. Did you see what the Padres got for Latos? They got two elite hitting prospects (one is a good catcher), a pretty good relief prospect, and a starter. The Rays get a controllable starter, a blocked (no longer prospect) catcher, and good center fielder a year away from arb1. This might be too light!
For 200+ innings and a good K and BB rate, that is not tha much money at all. And also, once Shields gets away from the RAys suprisingly bad defense this year,his ERA should drop.
It most certainly is not. Shields is a huge value at those dollars.
What on earth does that have to do with shields?
his nickname (at least on baseball tonight) is big game james shields. i know he has struggled this year but it would be a great pickup.
“The would want Mill’s because we will make them want him” are you kidding me? The dude has been in and out of the bigs, and although i kind of like him, he has very little upside if any. you think you are DiPoto or something, because you speak in absolutes like you know what’s going on.
We have not received any indication that the Rays are actually going to move him. Just because it is the same team does not mean that you will end up with a bad player. Yes you get the pick if you give a qualifying offer and he declines. Why would they not make him a qualifying offer in two years? Unless he just fell off the map, then maybe that would be the case. You are certainly entitled to feel as though he is “Kaz 2.0” but there is no real indication that that will be the case.
If they offer him a qualifying offer. Why wouldn’t they pick up the options? They are crazy cheap for a pitcher like Shields. The hauls will probably be larger in my opinion. There is even less incentive now to move players like Shields or Garza. You have excellent major league starters on very nice contracts that will brings back a pick. That forces other teams to have to beat the value they have for their contract years and the comp pick. The return on players like Greinke will drop because there is no compensation.
Which part screams “Kaz 2.0?” Is it the 2.67 BB/9? the 54% ground ball rate? The average 220 IP per year the past 5 years?
Kaz 2.0? Other than coming from the same team, I’m not sure how these two compare. Maybe that .337 babip has something to do with shields’ numbers? Walk rate and strikeout rate is almost the same as last year. Please give me any actual data to support this claim. Shields is an awesome number 2 and a more than serviceable number 1. The rays have not stated that they want to move him. The Rays are in a position where they need to restock their system and a lot of people are assuming that they will listen on shields. I believe he will be moved because the changes in the cba have made it even harder for small market teams to compete. The Rays need to stock there system with both hitters and pitchers while they still have pieces to move. Upton, Shields, and Rodney should all be moved. I know they are in the hunt for the wild card 2 spot, but they have very little in the upper minors. They need to restock some. Next year they need to move Davis back to the rotation as well.
that’s probably a little sacrcasm.
Which is a great value for a pitcher that does what shields does.
7 million for 200 innings w 8+ k/9 and 2ish bb/9 is an awesome value. Especially considering you have two club options the next two years.
For the Angels, he would be the cheapest starter (that isnt league min) and the third best (haren and weaver)