Rangers rumors: Texas not pursuing James Shields, Max Scherzer

By Hayden Kane | Jan 17, 2015

Sep 26, 2014; Detroit, MI, USA; Detroit Tigers starting pitcher Max Scherzer (37) in the dugout before the game against the Minnesota Twins at Comerica Park. Mandatory Credit: Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports /

The Texas Rangers are always a team to watch in MLB free agency, but they reportedly are not interested in James Shields or Max Scherzer this off-season.

It’s an interesting predicament for general manager Jon Daniels and the Rangers. Even for a team coming off a last place season in which they finished with a 67-95 record, they have to believe that they could instantly become contenders by pairing another stud starting pitcher with the sensational Yu Darvish.

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Furthermore, the Rangers seem to be a team that can always find a way to spend big, even if it doesn’t totally make sense at the time. So even if some of the recent big-time deals for Texas have not worked out so well, they are a logical team to speculate about with free agents James Shields and Max Scherzer.

As such, Texas has been linked to those pitchers this winter, especially Scherzer. Considering the lack of action around those two pitchers, the Rangers could have been considered a team ready to make a push. Jon Daniels squashed those rumors this week, however, while appearing on MLB Network Radio.

"Jon Daniels told us they are not involved in Shields or Scherzer @MLBNetworkRadio #Rangers — Jim Bowden (@JimBowden_ESPN) January 16, 2015"

If you look at the moves made by the Rangers the last couple off-seasons, it makes sense that they might want to sit things out this winter. Consider the money on these deals that are on the books for the 2015 season (per Spotrac):

Prince Fielder: $24 million
Adrian Beltre: $18 million
Elvis Andrus: $15.25 million
Shin-Soo Choo: $14 million
Matt Harrison: $13.2 million
Yu Darvish: $10 million

Let’s all take a 30 second break so that Rangers fans can pick their heads up off the table and shake off the cobwebs after they slammed their heads on said table.

That list of contracts does not necessarily disqualify the Rangers from making a big move, but it certainly means that they need to proceed carefully. The overall money on Scherzer’s deal is probably too much for their taste, and a five-year deal for a 33-year-old Shields is not exactly palatable.

Maybe the team’s stance will change if the circumstances around either pitcher changes in a manner that they deem favorable. But as things stand now, it sounds like the Rangers are out on Shields and Scherzer, making it that much more difficult to find teams that are interested in one or the other.

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