Finally, James Shields has signed with a team to become the last big name free agent to drop of the market. But whom did he sign with? After trading for Justin Upton, Matt Kemp, Wil Myers, and Derek Norris, Padres’ GM, AJ Preller, “puts the cherry on top”, as he swoops in when the market lowered to below $80 million for the former Royals ace, when James Shields agreed to a 4-year pact worth between $72-75 million with the Padres on Monday February 9, 2015. The Padres pitching rotation now has two top tier young studs and a great veteran leader at the top, which will surely get some run support as well, with two former silver sluggers, the 2013 ROTY, and some other potentially good bats in the lineup for the 2015 season. Since the Padres have not begun play yet, they cant be put over the Dodgers, but San Diego certainly looks better on paper than the Giants, considering what each team came away with during the offseason. So, are the Padres at least a lock for the Wild Card? They should at least be the favorites to get one of the two spots.
Before James Shields signed with the Padres, AJ Preller had already shaped the team into a potential playoff contender, if not, at least an 85-win squad. Offensive struggles has been the root of the Padres’ problems in becoming a winning team; so fairly quickly, the young new GM in San Diego fixed the problem this offseason, as all-star sluggers Justin Upton and Matt Kemp, along with 2013 AL ROTY, Wil Myers, were acquired for a cheap price. Then a small efficient move was made to compliment those big trades, as the former Oakland all-star catcher, Derrick Norris was brought to Southern California. That new team alone was significantly improved already to be a playoff contender in the National league this upcoming season.
Despite manager, Bud Black, being a genius with the pitching staff, a big move or a couple small impactful ones were still needed in order for the Padres’ chances of a World Series Championship to be closer to reality. So, Preller went out and signed Big Game James to a 4-year deal. Sure James is not exactly an ace like Jon Lester or Max Scherzer, but Shields’ highly praised leadership in the clubhouse and pitching consistency, is a key ingredient for an championship team.
Over the past 8 seasons, James Shields has not pitched less than 203 innings/year. Throughout those seasons, his numbers are not staggering, but James has averaged 14 wins/year with an ERA below 3.80. He won’t strikeout a lot of batters, nor will widen eyes with his stuff, but if a team is looking for a guy to eat up innings and be a mentor to the young star pitchers in the clubhouse, then look no further than the former Royals’ ace. With Tyson Ross coming off of a stellar all-star season in his first campaign as a starter, and Andrew Cashner coming into his own with a 2014 ERA of 2.55, James Shields will be a key contributor to helping their careers’ flourish. Then behind those 3 guys, is another veteran, Ian Kennedy, who is healthy and ready to go for 2015. Then the end of the rotation and bullpen are stocked with a mix of different talents, who in order to make a winning impact, need a commander in chief who knows how to use them, and guess what, the Padres have the best man for that job, in Bud Black.
With the combination of a revamped batting lineup and pitching staff with a newly signed leader, the Padres should have no excuse in 2015 to not at least win 86 games with a fight for a playoff spot. The only question, obviously, will be the health and team chemistry, but besides that, San Diego should be popping when Opening Day arrives. But as of right, now on paper, there should be no reason why the Padres should not be the favorites to land a Wild Card spot out of the NL West.
