Despite the fact that pitchers and catchers report to spring training in just a few weeks, James Shields still does not have a new team for the upcoming season. Shields was considered one of the top free agent starting pitchers entering the offseason, but the market has been surprisingly cool toward him for the past several weeks.
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There has been a lot of speculation that Shields' contract demands were too high for teams to aggressively pursue him. Regardless of the reasons why teams have avoided him, he now finds himself in the unenviable position of having to scramble to find a team, and he will likely have to compromise his contract demands to do so.
According to Fox Sports, several teams that seemed like possible destinations for Shields have either found help elsewhere or are no longer interested. The San Francisco Giants have re-signed Jake Peavy, and they are unlikely to shell out big bucks for Shields.
The Boston Red Sox are looking to avoid players like Shields for the most part. They are a young team, and adding 33-year-olds who are likely to decline in performance does not really fit their roster plan.
The Detroit Tigers lost Max Scherzer, but general manager Dave Dombrowski stated earlier this week that the team is not looking at Shields.
The Marlins have been a rumored candidate, but a Marlins executive has consistently said, "Zero percent" when asked about his team's chances of signing Shields, a stance he reiterated Thursday.
Even Shields' former team, the Royals, seem to have moved on. "I can't say it hasn't crossed my mind," said GM Dayton Moore. "At this point in time, though, it's doubtful we bring back James."
So which teams are left? Unfortunately for Shields, not very many, and even those teams are lukewarm on him
The Padres have been looking to add a starter, but they have yet to make a strong push for Shields.
The Diamondbacks and Blue Jays have both considered Shields, but they may lack the financial resources to sign him.
The Brewers would seem to have a need, but they insist that they are fine with their rotation, even after trading Yovani Gallardo.
At this point, there does not seem to be a clear favorite to land Shields. However, it looks like whichever team he eventually signs with will get him for far less than the $100 million that he entered free agency expecting.
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