Although there were a handful of teams to show interest in James Shields early in free agency (San Francisco Giants, Boston Red Sox, Los Angeles Dodgers), almost every team who explored such an idea has backed away from the table.
Why? Money. James Shields simply out-priced himself and now, just weeks before catchers and pitchers report to Spring Training, is without a team. That could change though as ESPN reports multiple teams are showing a renewed interest in James Shields believing that his price tag has dropped.
“What I see now is a lot of teams jumping back in,” said an MLB executive. “But part of the reason is, they’re saying, ‘We know now he’s not getting $110 million, so why not jump back in?’ But the problem is, now everyone is bottom-feeding. And when you’re someone like him, that’s the last thing you want, is a lot of teams bottom-feeding on you in late January.”
We’ve seen players do this before (just as recently as last offseason) and go into the season without a deal, though that might be rather risky for James Shields considering he’s likely to secure a profitable but short deal in such a scenario.
Either way, it appears teams might be gearing up for a late dash at attempting to sign James Shields.
