The Red Sox better get moving on a stopper soon, and the man should be James Shields.
Ben Cherington has been cagey on the subject, telling bleacherreport.com:”We like the direction the team is headed in. I think it’s more likely that if we add anywhere, it’s the bullpen, between now and spring training.”
As most writers and fans realize, however, the rotation as it stands is not sufficient. Trade acquisitons Rick Porcello and Wade Miley are not stoppers, and neither are Joe Kelly, Clay Buchholz, and Justin Masterson.
Shields’ stats do not approach those of a Max Scherzer, but they show remarkable consistency. In 7 years with the Rays, he went 87-73 with a 3.89 ERA. His top year was 2011, at 16-12 and 2.82 with a league-leading 11 complete games and 4 shutouts. He was an AL all-star and finished third in Cy Young voting. Since becoming a regular in 07, he has had only one subpar year, when his ERA ballooned to 5.18. Obtained by the Royals in a 2013 trade, Shields continued to excel, twice leading the league in starts and once in innings pitched. HIs 27-17 mark and 3.18 ERA are better than any present Sox starter. HIs durability has been excellent.
The only blemish on Shields is his postseason record- 3-6 and 5.46. But other hurlers- Roger Clemens in particular- have not lived up to playoff expectations but still have been considered quite valuable.
Shields, who turned 33 last month, has age going against him a bit. He reportedly has a high asking price ($10 million and 5 years), but he deserves it. The Sox could go a long way to making up for the Jon Lester debacle by opening their wallets for him.
Last year’s starting rotation had an unacceptable 4.36 mark. The present rotation will problably not improve much on that. Obviously, Shields has that capacity.
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