The reason behind the hype for this guy is simple. He's a proven workhorse type of pitcher. Sure he's not the same quality ace pitcher like he was in Tampa Bay, but man this guy was solid in the regular season last year going 14-8 on a surprising team like the Royals.
The Blue Jays front office staff have been very quite on their stance on James. The reason he is not signed by any big team yet is quite simply his age. He is unfortunately on the wrong side of 30.
It was reported that James is seeking a 5 year deal north of the $100 million mark. This guy has to come back down to earth. Yes he is a good pitcher, However he isn't in his 20's anymore. No team is going to take that kind of financial risk on a player who may just have seen his best years behind him. Perfect example R.A Dickey......anyone see where I'm going with that.
Now it's unclear if the Blue Jays have any money left to spend this offseason, but if they do they should definitely offer this guy a deal. Putting Shields in the lineup not only gives the Blue Jays a solid rotation but it also provides us with bullpen relief. The Blue Jays have the issue where all starters not named Buehlre seem to only last 6 innings. Shields has had over 33 completed games in his career and could possibly do another 7.
One thing is for sure though if the Jays have any hope to compete this year they need more arms like this guy in there club.
-Ace
No comments:
Post a Comment