James Shields Offered Qualifying Offer By Kansas City Royals

The Kansas City Royals have offered ace pitcher James Shields a one-year qualifying offer before he enters MLB free agency.

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It was a postseason to forget for James Shields, though the Kansas City Royals are still interested in bringing back their ace assuming the price is right.

Of course with a rather weak market for starting pitching it’s expected that James Shields will have his choice of suitors in free agency who are willing to overpay for the veteran arm. That may not be the Royals, though they’ve still offered the pitcher a one-year qualifying offer.

There’s really no reason for the Kansas City Royals not to make such an offer as they’d be more than willing to pay Shields an elevated salary for just one season. More importantly though they’ve protected themselves from losing James Shields for nothing as any team that signs the pitcher will need to forfeit a draft pick to the Royals in exchange.

If Shields would be the first restricted free agent signed by a team, they’d have to provide a first-round pick. If Shields was the second restricted free agent signed by a team, they’d  have to forfeit a second-round pick. The rule continues to apply for each restricted free agent signed.

Giving a player a qualifying offer sometimes makes opposing teams less likely to make a bid as not only would they have to pay the said player but they also have to give up a high quality draft pick in the process.

We’ve seen players like Stephen Drew and Nelson Cruz decline their qualifying offer only to struggle to find a new team.

James Shields finished the 2014 regular season with a 14-8 record and a very impressive 3.21 ERA in a tough American League.

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