The San Diego Padres are apparently shopping James Shields and will at least listen to offers for some of their other starting pitchers. The teams to most recently give Padres general manager A.J. Preller a call about Shields are the Baltimore Orioles and Boston Red Sox.
A little more than a year ago, the Padres traded for a brand new outfield by bringing in Matt Kemp, Will Myers and Justin Upton all within a few days. Preller also added catcher Derek Norris and closer Craig Kimbrel while also signing Shields in a clear offseason push to compete for the NL West.
With a 74-88 season to show for the trades and signings, the Padres let Upton walk in free agency and traded Kimbrel. With their prospects not looking much more promising this season, the team is believed to still be entertaining offers on Shields, as well as other starters like Tyson Ross and Andrew Cashner. If the Red Sox were to find themselves competing with the Orioles for Shields, they would be better suited pursuing Ross or Cashner.
The Orioles' rotation lacks big game experience, while the Red Sox's starting pitching depth is shallow behind David Price. What could stand in the way of the Orioles bringing in Ross or Cashner is not as much of a problem for the Red Sox.
The Red Sox have a ballpark extremely favorable for hitters, as do their division rivals, but they could have some reason to believe that Shields can rebound from a season in which he gave up 1.47 HR/9. The fact remains that they have the means to get younger pitchers with far less mileage on their arms. The Padres are not close to dealing Shields, and the same can reasonably said for Ross and Cashner. The latter two are also believed to be in prove-it situations, which could either inflate or deflate their trade value.
Shields' age and contract means that his value will likely stay about the same, but Ross and Cashner still have multiple seasons of team control. This makes them much more attractive to the Red Sox anyway because of the money they have promised to several players at the major league level. Dealing all three could net the Padres a nice return. Also believed to be monitoring the Padres' trade block is the Texas Rangers.
The Rangers are already believed to be interested in Norris to bolster their catching depth and have the kind of prospects and youth in their organization to get the Padres to add Ross or Cashner, if not Shields. Like the Red Sox, the Rangers have the kind of youth in their organization to net younger starting pitchers.
The Red Sox, however, might have the upperhand in pursuing Ross or Cashner. They seem unwilling to part with their young outfield duo of Jackie Bradley Jr. and Mookie Betts. That leaves out Rusney Castillo, who might well be available for a trade even though he completes a strong defensive trio in the outfield. If the Padres want to build a trade around Castillo and Cashner or Ross, the Red Sox have David Murphy and Chris Young to platoon in his place.
While the Rangers and Orioles may have as much a need for starting pitching, if not more, the Red Sox are better positioned to pull off a trade. They lacked an ace last season, so they got one in Price. Now they need to put better arms behind him.
