James Shields Trade Rumors: Latest Buzz, Speculation Surrounding Padres P

The San Diego Padres faced an uphill battle to acquire fair market value for James Shields heading into the trade deadline, which passed on July 31. His contract is a major hurdle in any talks with other teams, and he cleared waivers as a result.

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Little Interest on Shields Due To Large Financial Commitment

Monday, Aug. 10

"As expected, James Shields has cleared waivers. Lots of big-contract players clearing waivers," tweeted ESPN's Buster Olney on Saturday.

Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports reported on July 28 that other general managers believed Shields would go unclaimed on waivers due to a contract that will pay him $21 million for each of the next three seasons before a $16 million club option in 2019, as noted by Spotrac.

The 33-year-old right-hander's first season with the Padres has yielded promising strikeout numbers (160 in 146.1 innings). But he's already walked more batters in 24 starts (50) than he did in 34 starts with Kansas City last season (44).

As a result, Shields sports a rather mundane 3.75 ERA to go along with a 1.28 WHIP. He's getting paid like an ace, but those aren't the type of numbers a team needs at the front of its rotation.

Still, it wouldn't make much sense for the Padres to just dump him for anything a team offers only months after making such a large commitment.