Padres, James Shields Agree to Four Year, $75 Million Deal

Shields is now a Padre. Photo Credit: Christopher Hanewinckel, USA TODAY Sports

The Padres added another big prized free agent to their offseason haul as they welcomed James Shields into the fold.

By: Michael Hanley (@Magic20099)
The Padres and James Shield agreed to a four year, $75 million dollar deal to bolster their starting rotation and make it amore formidable force to be reckoned with this coming season. He still needs to take a physical before this deal will be officially announced.

Shields joins a rotation that will feature Andrew Cashner, Ian Kennedy and Tyson Ross  and will be a solid number two start behind the ace in Ross. He adds a great veteran presence to this staff and will be bale to help mentor some of these pitchers like Ross to further their game and give them a different perspective on how to pitch and approach hitters and in game situations.

Of course, the reason why he was brought to San Diego was to help the Padres win consistently and help them elevate to contender status. The revamped lineup should also be able to help that endeavor in addition to Shield's ability to toss out as solid to great outing every five days.  


Shields is coming off a terrific season in which he posted a 14-8 record with a 3.21 ERA for the Royals, who made that miraculous run to the World Series last season. This was even more impressive that he was able to do this in the American League where their is a DH and where more of the offensive firepower is in all of baseball.

 In the National League, he should be able to make the adjustment without too much difficulty. This league features the opposing pitcher batting ninth and an overall weaker bottom of the order which should enable him to get some consistently quick outs to help keep his pitch count in check and to reserve some energy for the later outs he will look to get.  

Through the 33 year old is  further  in his career at this point, he still is capable of giving this team 15-18 wins if he stays healthy and if the offense can be productive and give  him solid run support.

This is a deal San Diego had to make in order to enhance their chances of truly being a player in the NL West division race and be in the mix of a playoff berth.