Okay…maybe not. Not many teams will be interested in an aging pitcher with declining stuff and turbulent history of fighting through adversity, but James Shields closed a very strong month of May on Sunday for the White Sox. Despite earning the loss, Shields went seven innings allowing three earned runs and halving his earned run average from April.
Shields endured a typical tumultuous April posting a 6.17 ERA and struggling to escape hairy situations. May was a different story. The wily veteran lowered his ERA to 3.27 in May and 4.62 for the season. Moreover, Shields ate up 33 innings in the month and went into the seventh inning three times. In fact, Shields went into at least the sixth inning in each of his six starts this month.
Part of Shields success has to do with throwing more strikes. While far from posting an elite strike rate, Shields tossed 63 percent of his pitches for strikes in May compared to only 58 percent in April. This contributed to forcing hitters to swing at fringy pitches and making poor contact — a .198 batting average on balls in play compared to .307 in April. Additionally, Shields tripled his strikeout rate in May.
The league isn’t exactly lining up to offer deals for Shields, and he is not the kind of pitcher that will solicit heavy prospect hauls if a team shows interest. But given his contract could be extended with a club option for 2019 with a five-million-dollar discount (if exercised, Shields will earn $16 million — $5 million less than in 2018) there is room to find value.
It’s hard to even speculate on who might be interested in a pitcher like Sheilds, but if he continues to demonstrate success with his 3/4-arm slot he might attract interest by the waiver deadline in August. Even if he won’t join a starting rotation, he could provide a veteran presence and change of pace in a bullpen competing in the postseason.
And if injuries continue around the league at the same pace we’ve seen early in the season, desperation could vault Shields to the top of a short list.
