The saga looks to finally be over as James Shields is being reported to have signed with a team, and the winning club is the San Diego Padres. Well it really wasn’t that much drama, but trying to figure out who would sign the nine-year vet was a bit tricky.
Reports have it that the Padres were not looking to add any starting pitchers this off season, but with Shields still on the market and spring training about to start in two weeks, they couldn’t pass up on the opportunity to add such a durable arm to their rotation.
So the deal is reported to be worth between $72-76 million for four years with an option for a fifth year.
In 2014, Shields pitched for the Kansas City Royals and helped lead them to an American League crown and a visit to the World Series, which they would lose in seven games to the San Francisco Giants. On the mound the 33-year old right hander was 14-8, with a 3.21 ERA and in his nine year pitching career he is 114-90, with a 3.72 ERA.
Shields would become the ace of the staff and with a revamped lineup, the Padres may have made enough moves this off season to find themselves back in the post season.
So does the signing of Shields make the Padres stronger and guaranteed contenders? Time will tell.
(Photo courtesy of MLB.com)
David Conde
David is the Co-Founder and Executive Editor of Legends On Deck®, as well as a Co-Host on Legends On Deck Podcast. David was a Senior Editor for MetsMerizedOnline.com, MetsMinors.net and Contributor for Hardballchat.com that spanned from 2010 to 2014. David made his MLB Debut as a writer in June 2014, while covering the NY Mets at Citi Field, for MetsmerizedOnline.com. David also coaches baseball for ages 13-15, a Babe Ruth League team in his local community. David's passion is coaching the game he loves to the future Legends of Tomorrow as well as making available a website that people can have fun sharing and reading. David is also passionate about his career as a Mortgage Loan Officer which allows him to help many families reach their dreams of owning a home. Connect with David via his Social Media pages as he loves to chat all about baseball.
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