James Shields RUMORS & NEWS

Houston Chronicle "The Astros don’t just appear to be playing better baseball. They are. A 3-1 victory against Kansas City on Wednesday at Minute Maid Park gave the Astros a series win versus the Royals and a 4-3 record in their last seven games. Righthander Jordan Lyles guided the Astros (14-33). The..." May 23

Kansas City Star "James Shields recovered from a shaky start Tuesday night and beat his former club when the Royals finally found some offensive punch in the late innings for an 8-2 victory over the Tampa Bay Rays at Kauffman Stadium. It was an emotional night for Shields, who spent 12 years in the Rays’..." May 01

Tampa Bay Times "Part of what makes James Shields the pitcher he is, and what made him the pitcher the Royals wanted badly enough from the Rays to part with elite prospect Wil Myers, is the intensity he brings to the mound to win each and every game. But sitting in the Kauffman Stadium dugout Monday afternoon,..." April 30

Kansas City Star "Royals pitcher James Shields isn’t sure how to react to comments by former teammate Evan Longoria about the “better mental state” of the Tampa Bay clubhouse. Longoria told the Tampa Bay Times that the offseason departures of Shields and now-Atlanta outfielder B.J. Upton provide a benefit in..." April 04

Kansas City Star "Royals pitcher James Shields isn’t sure how to react to comments by former teammate Evan Longoria about the “better mental state” of the Tampa Bay clubhouse. Longoria told the Tampa Bay Times that the offseason departures of Shields and now-Atlanta outfielder B.J. Upton provide a benefit in..." April 03

Kansas City Star "Lefty reliever Tim Collins is slotted to pitch again tonight when the Royals play the Chicago Cubs in concluding a day/night doubleheader that commences this afternoon against Milwaukee. Collins could really use a dominant performance to quell growing concerns after after enduring another..." March 27

Kansas City Star "There was never much doubt, but it became official Friday morning when Royals manager Ned Yost confirmed James Shields will start April 1 in the season opener against the White Sox in Chicago. “Why Shields?” Yost parried. “Come on, dude. That doesn’t even deserve an answer. If someone can’t..." March 22

Kansas City Star "There’s a protocol in spring training (like there is with most things in most places), and it’s an unwritten rule that big-league players, especially veteran big-league players, get to park closest to the clubhouse. Perhaps it needs to be written down but, no matter, pitchers James Shields and..." March 20

Kansas City Star "James Shields knows how to make an entrance. When Shields checked in Saturday at the Royals’ complex, two days ahead of schedule, he also ponied up for the cost of sandwiches to feed his new teammates. The club can’t provide meals until official workouts begin. The Royals’ unofficial..." February 10

Kansas City Star "In the Santa Clarita Valley, a sprawling swath of Southern California suburbia, they still talk about the best high school baseball game they ever saw. It happened nearly 13 years ago, but Jim Ozella, the baseball coach at Hart High School, still keeps the scorebook numbers just a few clicks away..." December 16

Tampa Tribune "The Tampa Bay Rays executed the biggest trade in team history Sunday night, sending pitchers James Shields and Wade Davis to the Kansas City Royals for four minor league players, including outfielder Wil Myers, the Royals' top prospect. The Rays also received right-handed pitcher Jake Odorizzi,..." December 10

Dallas Morning News "The speculation of the moment at the Gaylord Opryland is that the Rangers are so far into talks with Josh Hamilton that they've started pursuing a complicated deal to land a starting pitcher in place of expensive Zack Greinke. MLB sources said the Rangers have been in discussions with Tampa Bay..." December 05

Twinkie Town "According to Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe, the Twins have already checked in on Rays starter James Shields: "James Shields, RHP, Rays — We suspect the Rays will field a lot of calls on him in the coming weeks. Whether they pull the trigger in order to obtain offense remains to be seen. With..." November 04

Hardball Talk "The Twins had one of the worst pitching staffs in the majors this season, finishing with a combined 4.77 ERA that ranked 28th out of baseball's 30 teams. It was a given that they'd try to do some patchwork this winter, but could a big splash be on the way? According to Nick Cafardo of the..." November 04

Tampa Tribune "There is a report out of Los Angeles that the Dodgers have targeted Tampa Bay Rays pitcher James Shields as their top offseason priority. For Shields, it's just part of life as the highest-paid member of the team. The Rays made that official Wednesday when they picked up the 2013 options on..." November 01

SB Nation "The A's ruined a lot of things this year. They ruined the Rangers' and Angels' seasons, for example. They ruined the safety net of low expectations that a couple of low-revenue franchises have tried to maintain. For the purposes of this article, though, we'll focus on how they ruined the..." October 31

Hardball Talk "According to Mark Saxon of ESPN Los Angeles the Dodgers are looking to add another veteran starting pitcher with Chad Billingsley and Ted Lilly both question marks health-wise, and their "No. 1 target" is Rays right-hander James Shields. Tampa Bay picked up Shields' option for 2013, because at..." October 31

Hardball Talk "In one of the biggest no-brainer calls of the offseason, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports that the Rays have informed right-hander James Shields that they'll exercise his $10.25 million option for 2013. Shields is a tremendous bargain at that price after bouncing back from a rough..." October 30

D-Rays Bay "As fun as the Rays' win streak has been over the last few weeks, there's been one major downside to them being in the hunt for the playoffs right up until the last moment: I haven't had nearly enough time to process that the season is coming to a close, and that after tonight, there will be no..." October 03

Tampa Bay Times "Closer RHP Fernando Rodney was named team MVP in the annual voting by members of the Tampa Bay chapter of the Baseball Writers' Association of America. Rodney, who has 47 saves and a reliever record 0.6053 ERA, received five of the eight first-place votes, finishing ahead of 20-game winner..." October 02

Baltimore Sun "Tampa Bay right-hander James Shields, who will start Tuesday night's pivotal game against the Orioles, is wrapping up a very successful 2012 season that – so far – has featured a 15-9 and a solid 3.62 ERA. That's almost proportionately consistent with his career numbers in 23 career starts against..." October 02

Tampa Tribune "RHP James Shields makes his 33rd and final start of the regular season tonight, and, possibly, his final start with the Tampa Bay Rays. Shields is due $9 million next season (with a $1.5 million buyout), and given the team's payroll constraints plus its need to upgrade at several positions,..." October 02

Tampa Tribune "Tampa Bay RHP James Shields said he would like to take one of his jerseys and one from LHP David Price, cut them in half and sew them together so each jersey is a combination of the two. Shields said that might be the best way to commemorate Price and himself joining an exclusive 200-200..." September 27

New York Post "Curtis Granderson has faced James Shields more than he has any pitcher during his major league career. Going into Saturday, he had 56 at-bats against the Rays right-hander, and he had failed in 50 of them. "I know [my history's] not very good," Granderson said. Whether the Yankees center..." September 16

Tampa Bay Times "It would take a lot to top James Shields' powerful performance Sunday, a two-hit shutout of the majors' most offensive team. And B.J. Upton did, hitting a team-record-tying three home runs in a 6-0 win over Texas. Upton, speaking softly in his corner of the Rays clubhouse, insisted Shields was..." September 10

Tampa Tribune "RHP James Shields said he had his best pregame bullpen session of the season Sunday. While that doesn't always translate into a good outing, it did for Shields. Shields held the Rangers to two hits and tossed his second complete-game shutout of the season in the Rays 6-0 victory. "I felt..." September 10

Tampa Tribune "The Rays lost by one run again. They lost 1-0 again. They wasted another outstanding night by a pitcher again. They had their scoring chances but let too many of them slip by again. And to sum it up, manager Joe Maddon used the word "frustrating." Again. "The pain factor," Maddon..." August 29

D-Rays Bay "As well as the Rays have been playing they couldn't drop a home series to the Royals, right? Right. James Shields earned his twelfth win of the season, pitching seven and two-thirds innings, allowing three earned runs and striking out seven while walking just one. It was his fifth consecutive..." August 22

Tampa Tribune "Tampa Bay RHP James Shields wasn't as sharp as he had been in his previous two starts, but he managed to get the big outs when he needed Sunday in the Rays' 7-3, 10-inning victory against the Minnesota Twins at Target Field. Six of those big outs came in the sixth and seventh innings after the..." August 13

Tampa Tribune "RHP James Shields has been a different pitcher since his talk with pitching coach Jim Hickey before his July 31 start in Oakland. The subject centered on fastballs. Hickey wanted to see more of them from Shields. In his first 21 starts, Shields threw his fastball 27.7 percent of the time,..." August 12

Tampa Bay Times "RHP James Shields enters tonight's start against the Blue Jays with the tough task of topping his last outing, a three-hit shutout against the A's. But Shields has experience providing encores, including three consecutive complete games in June 2011 during his All-Star season. "I've done it..." August 07

Tampa Tribune "As the ball settled into B.J. Upton's glove in center field for the final out Tuesday night, James Shields turned toward the guys sitting down in the bullpen and fired a "This was for you" point. On a night when the Tampa Bay Rays bullpen needed a breather, Shields provided just that, throwing..." August 01

CBSSports.com "Interested teams are starting to wonder how just serious the Rays really are about trading James Shields. The Rays are said to be seeking "north of Greinke," referring to the three-prospect package the Brewers got for star pitcher Zack Greinke, who is a free agent after the season. So if they..." July 29

Tampa Tribune "David Price watched a handful of reporters approach James Shields on Friday afternoon as Shields sat in his corner locker inside the visitor's clubhouse at Angels Stadium. "Shields is off limits," Price yelled. Not so much to reporters inquiring about the latest trade rumors, Price meant,..." July 28

CBSSports.com "The Marlins are asking for teams' top two or three prospects in exchange for Josh Johnson, tweeted ESPN's Jerry Crasnick. Those prospects -- think Texas' Jurickson Profar, Baltimore's Dylan Bundy and/or Manny Machado, and Toronto's Travis d'Arnaud -- are "just to get talks moving," Crasnick also..." July 27

Tampa Tribune "Although disappointed with the outcome, Rays manager Joe Maddon wasn't necessarily displeased with the performance of starting pitcher James Shields. Shields, on the other hand, wasn't thrilled with his performance. Baltimore scored five times in the fifth Thursday as Shields loaded the..." July 27

CBSSports.com "The rival Rangers and Dodgers have joined the Angels in the hunt for Big Game James Shields, sources told CBSSports.com. All three teams have made offers but the Rays are waiting for someone to do better for the former All-Star right-hander. While the Angels have long been tied to Shields,..." July 26

Detroit Free Press "As we continue to scour the world for the latest rumors and rumblings, we came across this little nugget that may pique the interest of Tigers fans. According to Foxsports.com's Jon Paul Morosi, both the Tigers and L.A. Angels had scouts in St. Petersburg, Fla., to watch the Tampa Bay-Seattle..." July 22

Los Angeles Times "With the Dodgers appearing reluctant to meet the Chicago Cubs' asking price for potential two-month rental pitcher Ryan Dempster, they could soon turn their focus to players they could retain beyond this season. Two players on the Dodgers' radar are first baseman Justin Morneau of the Minnesota..." July 22

Tampa Bay Times "RHP James Shields, of course, has no way to know if he will be traded before the July 31 deadline for nonwaiver deals, which could make tonight's start his last at Tropicana Field as a Ray. Executive VP Andrew Friedman, who makes the trades, also probably doesn't know yet what he's going to do..." July 20

Tampa Tribune "The "James Shields is getting traded" rumors began Monday with CBSSports.com baseball columnist Danny Knobler leading the way. Knobler wrote the Tigers are interested in Shields and cited an unnamed major league scout who claimed Shields' struggles this season can be solved by changing..." July 17

Foxsports.com "The industry-wide assumption is that if the Tampa Bay Rays fall out of contention, the pitcher they will trade is right-hander James Shields. Not necessarily. The Rays, deep in starting pitching, are open to moving any of their right-handed starters, major league sources say. A trade of..." July 17

CBSSports.com "Buyer or seller? In the case of the Rays and James Shields, it may not matter. Only half a game out of the second wild-card spot but in desperate need of an offensive boost, the Rays are suggesting to teams that they'll be willing to trade Shields, even if they still believe they can compete..." July 16

Tampa Tribune "By now the comparisons to 2010 have been made, and it is hard to argue against them. Tampa Bay Rays pitcher James Shields looks an awful lot like he did two years ago when he struggled through the worst season of his career. Shields argued the point after he allowed another team another round..." July 16

Tampa Bay Times "RHP James Shields had a tough start to his night Tuesday, allowing two first-inning runs and 10 hits overall to the Yankees. But Shields settled in to get his first victory in four starts, going seven innings in a 7-4 win over the Yankees. After the Rays gave him the lead back in the fourth,..." July 04

Tampa Tribune "Adam Dunn turned Monday's game around and sent the Rays down the path to a loss with one mighty swing of the bat. He did the same thing Tuesday without taking the bat off his shoulder. "Adam Dunn, if I don't walk him right there it's a whole different ballgame," Rays pitcher James Shields..." May 30

Tampa Tribune "The Tampa Bay Rays carry a two-game losing streak into tonight's series opener against New York at Yankee Stadium. It's where a pitching ace must step up. RHP James Shields loves this spot. Shields (5-0, 3.05 ERA) has built on last season's All-Star Game performance. Notably, he authored a..." May 08

Tampa Tribune "B.J. Upton made the Minnesota Twins pay severely for their decision to challenge him in the midst of a pitcher's duel Saturday night, sending James Shields and a big Tropicana Field crowd home happy with a 4-1 victory. Shields improved to 3-0 by allowing only five hits and striking out seven..." April 22

Tampa Tribune "It was the ninth inning Monday afternoon and James Shields was still on the mound. A good sign. And the Rays held the lead. An even better sign for a team that was battered during the weekend by Red Sox hitters. Shields was everything Tampa Bay's starting pitchers weren't during the first three..." April 17

Tampa Tribune "As expected, the Rays picked up the options on James Shields and Kyle Farnsworth and declined the option on Kelly Shoppach, paying the catcher a $300,000 buyout. "I'm glad the waiting is over," Shields said. "I had a feeling they were going to pick it up, but it's good to know." Shields,..." November 01