MLB rumors: Cubs could sign James Shields too?

By Hayden Kane | Jan 4, 2015

Oct 21, 2014; Kansas City, MO, USA; Kansas City Royals starting pitcher James Shields (33) throws a pitch against the San Francisco Giants in the first inning during game one of the 2014 World Series at Kauffman Stadium. Mandatory Credit: John Rieger-USA TODAY Sports /

James Shields is drawing interest from a number of teams in **MLB free agency. Could the Chicago Cubs sign him in the same off-season that they landed Jon Lester**?

Imagine a starting rotation that starts with Jon Lester and James Shields. It might not be on the level of the Clayton Kershaw and Zack Greinke duo in Los Angeles or the Jordan Zimmermann and Stephen Strasburg pairing in Washington, but Lester and Shields would still potentially be a World Series worthy pairing.

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James Shields is perceived to be a bargain in this year’s free agent market, that despite the fact that it will almost certainly take a five-year deal north of $100 million to sign him. Because of that perception as compared with the biggest name in Max Scherzer, a number of teams are pushing to sign Shields.

Many of these teams are the usual suspects, teams like the Boston Red Sox, Texas Rangers, and Los Angeles Dodgers. But the interested team that stands out is the Chicago Cubs.

At one point, Theo Epstein and the Chicago front office insisted that it was no sure thing that they would sign a big-ticket free agent this winter. Now that they have already landed Jon Lester, it appears that they are willing to get even more aggressive and could try to sign Shields as well.

Nick Cafardo reports that the Cubs are among the teams seriously interested in signing James Shields. Furthermore, there is reason to believe that they could have an advantage in the sweepstakes to land him. From Cafardo: “The Cubs obviously have the Joe Maddon respect factor with Shields from their days together in Tampa Bay.”

Between Epstein and Maddon, the Cubs seem to always have the familiarity factor working in their favor this off-season. From their perspective, it pays to get aggressive during the off-season in which a bunch of former members of the Tampa Bay Rays and Boston Red Sox are switching teams.

Besides his numbers on the mound, Shields has been lauded in the last couple years for his outstanding veteran presence in the locker room. The Cubs are known to be seeking more leadership in the clubhouse, with that desire linking them to trade rumors involving veteran sluggers Nick Swisher and Jonny Gomes.

If Chicago were to sign Shields instead, they could add that veteran leader while also fortifying the top of their starting rotation. That is an attractive scenario for the Cubs, even if it would make this off-season awfully expensive.

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