On Friday, Buster Olney of ESPN suggested that many around MLB believe James Shields signing with the San Diego Padres is very likely. Today, talks between the two sides are apparently going well as according to Scott Miller, discussions between James Shields and the Padres are ‘heating up’.
Sources: Talks between Padres, Shields have heated up & are gaining momentum. Shields likes idea of pitching in SD.
— Scott Miller (@ScottMillerBbl) February 7, 2015
As has been previously mentioned, Shields has an offseason home in the San Diego area and has long preferred to pitch on the West Coast. Add in the cavernous ballparks of the National League West, especially Petco Park where he’d be starting half of his games and it makes a ton of sense as to why James Shields would allegedly like to pitch for the San Diego Padres.
Money is of course a concern, though thanks to offsetting Matt Kemp‘s contract with the Dodgers, the Padres have funds to spend.
Assuming James Shields signs with the Padres, which appears more likely by the day, it’s not known if that will end their rumored pursuit of Philadelphia Phillies starter Cole Hamels. The likely scenario is that it would, though having both Shields and Hamels atop your rotation would be one hell of an offseason.
