When Zack Greinke signed his six-year, $147 million contract prior to the 2013 season nobody was thinking about the opt-out clause he was given after 2015. Are the Los Angeles Dodgers considering James Shields to hedge their bet if Greinke decides to leave?
According to sources, Shields is mulling a number of contract offers and is expected to decide by the end of the week. It's unknown what teams are in the mix to sign him, but he did say earlier in the offseason that he would prefer to pitch on the West Coast because he's from San Diego.
Greinke's recent comments about how he feels the team has gotten worse over the offseason, coupled with Shields' (apparent) decreasing price tag, could make the Dodgers consider otherwise. General manager Farhan Zaidi noted back in December that the team has "no plans to pursue those kinds of guys at this time," in referring to the big name starters at the time (Shields, Max Scherzer and Cole Hamels). At that time, the Dodgers had already filled their rotation with the additions of Brandon McCarthy and Brett Anderson and were not interested in spending $200 million on Scherzer, $110 million on Shields, or surrendering top prospects for Hamels.
But what about four years of Shields at $70 or $80 million?
"Signing Shields would make [Brett] Anderson a long man, which might not be a horrible idea given his injury history. It would also cost the Dodgers a draft pick, but then they already picked one up when Hanley Ramirez signed with the Red Sox, so that's something of a push," writes Steve Dilbeck of the Los Angeles Times.
"Of course, it comes down to just how far Shields' price has fallen. Four years and $70 million would still keep him out of the Dodgers' sites. But should he plummet into the $50-million range, they have to pursue him. They are trying to win now, right? Hell, they gave that much to McCarthy."
However, turning Anderson into a reliever doesn't seem to be something the Dodgers would be interested in. The left-hander signed a one-year, $10 million deal while Los Angeles has rid themselves of costly relievers - they dumped Brian Wilson and his $9.5 million salary, let Chris Perez walk in free agency and have offered to cover half of Brandon League's $8.5 million salary if another team agrees to trade for him. So Anderson in the bullpen for $10 million doesn't seem like that would be in their plans.
But Zaidi also noted "you never say never" when it comes to such signings and transactions. So if the price is right for Shields, there at least remains a possibility the Dodgers consider it because of the questions surrounding the future of the top of their rotation.
