The Miami Marlins are a youthful group teeming with raw talent, not unlike the Kansas City Royals in 2014. James Shields may have struggled in the postseason, but he helped them reach the playoffs with a rock-solid regular season and served as a mentor to the younger players.
According to ESPN's Jim Bowden, the Marlins may see Shields as bringing similar value to South Beach.
The Marlins continue to be involved and are closely monitoring James Shields Free Agent situation according to a source
— Jim Bowden (@JimBowden_ESPN) January 22, 2015
Last season Shields went 14-8 for the Royals with a 3.21 ERA and 1.18 WHIP, and continued a stretch of eight straight seasons with 200-plus innings of work. At age 33 he also was able to significantly drop his walk rate, pushing it below 2.00 for the first time since 2008.
The Marlins have had an aggressive offseason, inking outfielder Giancarlo Stanton to the richest deal in MLB history, trading for speedy infielder Dee Gordon, and trading for hard-throwing Cincinnati Reds right-hander Mat Latos.
The big moves come on the heels of a surprisingly successful 2014 campaign that saw Miami not only finish outside of last place, but end the year two games out of third place.
According to reports Shields' five-year, $125 million asking price must come down if he's going to pitch in Marlins Park. There are also rumors that Shields, who lives in San Diego, prefers to play for a team on the West coast. The Marlins have said publicly there's "zero" interest in bringing Shields aboard, but Latos' impending free agency has not allowed the Shields rumors to cool down.
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