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Cubs made James Shields an offer of three years, $60 million

By Ethan Finkelstein

Oct 26, 2014; San Francisco, CA, USA; Kansas City Royals starting pitcher James Shields throws a pitch against the San Francisco Giants in the first inning during game five of the 2014 World Series at AT&T Park. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports
Oct 26, 2014; San Francisco, CA, USA; Kansas City Royals starting pitcher James Shields throws a pitch against the San Francisco Giants in the first inning during game five of the 2014 World Series at AT&T Park. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports /
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The Chicago Cubs had made starting pitcher James Shields an offer of $60 million over three years before he had signed with the San Diego Padres.

With pitchers and catchers set to report soon, the MLB off-season is officially in its final stretch. With free agency beginning to finally come to a lull, the San Diego Padres made perhaps the final big acquisition of the winter in signing starting pitcher James Shields to a four year $75 million deal on Monday.

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It was the latest in a line of marquee pick-ups for the franchise, which is looking to improve upon a disappointing 77-85 finish to the 2014 season.

However, it is the Chicago Cubs that are making headlines today, albeit for a player they did not sign. The club reportedly offered Shields three years and $60 million to pitch in the city’s North side in 2015.

James Shields was the last of this off-season’s premier free agent class, so naturally, bidding was going to be quite competitive. When considering the league’s dearth of starting rotation depth, the nine year veteran becomes an even bigger commodity. He will be the newest addition to an expansion that already includes outfielders Wil Myers, Justin Upton, Matt Kemp, and perhaps Cuban infielder Yoan Moncada, who will likely command a bidding war of his own.

Despite those nice additions, the Cubs might have made the biggest strides of any team that missed out on contention in 2014. Not only will Chicago return a young line-up (Anthony Rizzo, Starlin Castro, Jorge Soler, and possibly Kris Bryant) set to blossom into one of the league’s best, their already solid rotation gets even stronger with the addition of Jon Lester at six years $155 million. He joins a cast which includes Jake Arrieta, Jason Hammel, and Kyle Hendricks. Should Travis Wood turn things around and return to 2013 form, it would give the club strength in all five spots of the rotation.

Now imagine if the Cubs had been able to snag Shields and replace Wood with him. That squad would have perhaps been good enough to rival the Washington Nationals and their virtually unfair assortment of arms. Okay, maybe not. Nevertheless, outside of Washington, it is hard to see a National League team with a better arsenal heading into a potential best of seven series. Add new manager Joe Maddon into the fray and that is why Chicago will likely be favored, on paper, to win the NL central this coming season.

Here is some even better news if you are a Cubs fan. They still have money to spend. This news makes that much certain. The Nationals have two potential free agents in Jordan Zimmerman and Doug Fister in their current rotation. Should the two go without signing extensions, the opportunity for a power shift in the NL presents itself in 2016.

[H/T NBC Sports]

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