Max Scherzer is the top free agent pitcher on the market, but with his reported asking price topping $200 million according to reports, there is a market for James Shields that is heating up.
According to Fox Sports Shields' value is rising as a second-tier No. 1 starter who is expected to receive a contract no lower than five years and $100 million. Ken Rosenthal recently wrote that two executives told him Shields has a five-year, $110 million offer already on the table, although it's unclear which team has made that move.
He couched the optimism about those numbers by saying the talk is merely chatter, and Yankees third baseman had similar rumors of a four-year, $65 million flying around before re-signing at four years and $52 million.
The absence of certain big spending teams may hurt his quest for nine figures as well. The defending champion San Francisco Giants are believed to have cooled on signing Shields at those numbers after bringing back veteran Jake Peavy on a two-year, $24 million deal.
Rosenthal wrote that the free-wheeling Boston Red Sox, once considered a top candidate to sign Shields, are now "highly unlikely" to pursue him, and the San Diego Padres are "content" with their rotation as is.
Last season Shields was a rock in the Royals' rotation, working 227 innings and posting a 14-8 record with a 3.21 ERA and 1.18 WHIP. He struggled in the postseason again, but 2014 marked the eighth consecutive season in which he pitched more than 200 innings.
As of now the top candidates for his services appear to be the Miami Marlins and Arizona Diamondbacks.
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