James Shields Chooses Team: Hot Stove 2/12

News

Equipment trucks, as well as a few early birds like Jon Lester and Matt Harvey, are arriving at Spring Training camps.

The 2015 MLB Draft order was announced; the Diamondbacks, Astros, and Rockies have the first three picks, respectively. The Nationals do not get their first pick until number 58.

Brewers catcher Jonathan Lucroy injured his hamstring, but still may be ready for Opening Day.

Braves reliever Shae Simmons will miss the entire 2015 season after undergoing Tommy John surgery.

White Sox outfielder Tony Campana tore his ACL and will likely miss the entire 2015 season.

Free Agent Signings

Padres signed James Shields (14-8, 3.21 ERA, 1.18 WHIP, 2015 age: 33) to a four year, $75 million deal ($18.8 million per season).

Mariners signed Rickie Weeks (8 HR, 29 RBI, .274 AVG, 3 SB, 2015 age: 32) to a one year, $2 million deal (plus up to $2 million in incentives).

Reds signed Burke Badenhop (0-3, 2.29 ERA, 1.26 WHIP, 1 SV, 2015 age: 32) to a one year, $2.5 million deal.

Astros signed Roberto Hernandez (8-11, 4.10 ERA, 1.39 WHIP, 2015 age: 34) to a minor league deal.

Braves signed Jose Veras (4-1, 4.50 ERA, 1.39 WHIP, 1 SV, 2015 age: 34 ) to a minor league deal.

Diamondbacks signed Gerald Laird (0 HR, 10 RBI, .204 AVG, 0 SB, 2015 age: 35) to a minor league deal.

Reds signed Kevin Gregg (0-0, 10.00 ERA, 1.78 WHIP, 2015 age: 36-37) to a minor league deal.

Braves signed Matt Capps (missed 2014, 3.52 career ERA, 138 SV, 2015 age: 31) to a minor league deal.

Indians signed Michael Martinez (0 HR, 2 RBI, .128 AVG, 0 SB, 2015 age: 32) to a minor league deal.

Reds signed Chris Dominguez (1 HR, 2 RBI, .059 AVG, 0 SB, 2015 age: 28) to a minor league deal.

The new-look Padres have made their last big deal to get ready for spring, it appears. James Shields, by far the top remaining free agent, will join San Diego as its new ace. The Santa Clarita native will be pitching in his home state for the first time, and the Padres needed him. After adding Matt Kemp, Wil Myers, Justin Upton, Derek Norris, and Will Middlebrooks in trades, the Padres turned to the free agent market to nab a pitcher. Shields will fit nicely with Ian Kennedy, Tyson Ross, Odrisamer Despaigne, and a fifth TBD starter in the previously untouched rotation. Big Game James has been a stalwart innings eater throughout his career, pitching over 200 innings every year since 2007 and at least 215 innings in seven of those eight seasons. In fact, no pitcher has thrown more innings over the past eight seasons than Shields, who has pitched 1785.2, for an average of 223 per season (Felix Hernandez is second on that list, trailing by exactly one out at 1785.1). His best season was 2011, when Shields went 16-12 with a 2.82 ERA and a 1.04 WHIP over 33 starts. His eleven complete games led the majors by a wide margin. The 6’3” righty also had a big year last year, going 14-8 with a 3.21 ERA and a 1.18 WHIP over 34 starts. However, the one place Shields has not been able to prove himself has been the postseason, where he is 3-6 with a 5.46 ERA over eleven career starts. In stark contrast, during the regular season, he is 114-90 with a 3.72 ERA and a 1.22 WHIP.

The Mariners made an interesting pick-up in Rickie Weeks. It is unclear what role the former All Star will play, given that Robinson Cano is currently starting at Weeks’ natural position, second base. Though Weeks has played all 1044 career games (not including DH) at second base, it is possible that he could split time with current shortstop Brad Miller. Because Miller is left-handed and Weeks is right-handed, we could see a potential platoon situation. A few years ago, Weeks was one of the best second basemen in the game, but the Southern University alumnus has not been able to keep that success going. He had his best year in 2010, when he batted .269 with 29 home runs, 83 RBI, 112 runs scored, and 11 stolen bases in 160 games for the Brewers. He added 20 and 21 home runs in 2011 and 2012, respectively, but injuries have kept him off the field for a fair amount of the past two seasons. After batting just .209 in 104 games in 2013, Weeks started off the 2014 season just 3-25 (.120 average) and found himself on the bench. After that, however, he skyrocketed, batting .291 with eight home runs and 34 runs scored over the next 108 games to close out the season. In the end, he finished with a .274 average, his highest mark since he hit .279 in 2006. Hopefully, Weeks can keep that hot streak going into 2015 and have a big comeback season.

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Teams followed in this update: Washington Nationals, Boston Red Sox, New York Yankees, Chicago Cubs, Tampa Bay Rays, Los Angeles Dodgers, Philadelphia Phillies, Colorado Rockies, Detroit Tigers

If your team is not included, please leave a comment.
HR: home runs. RBI: runs batted in. AVG: batting average. SB: stolen bases. ERA: earned run average. WHIP: walks/hits per innings pitched. K’s: strikeouts. WPCT: winning percentage
Zack Silverman