Fantasy Baseball Trade Made: James Shields for Adam Jones

I held out on a fantasy baseball trade proposal made to me last week involving outfielder Carlos Gomez for one of my best pitchers, James Shields. It was the second time this season Shields was targeted by that owner and both times I ignored it because I felt I was being insulted. This time, offering me Adam Jones got my attention.

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Jones is a guy I remember best as the one who got a 2-run double on a Sunday afternoon and cost me a win two years ago in fantasy baseball. To steal him away, I feel a little better about things even if it cost me a good pitcher. I hate to lose Shields and probably didn’t need another outfielder. Admittedly, this trade was made largely because it makes things more interesting.

The addition of Jones on my team gives me an incredibly deep outfield which also includes Yoenis Cespedes, Mookie Betts, Alex Gordon, Charlie Blackmon, and George Springer. Adam Lind has been pretty hot and used as the utility man so in order to get the most out of my team I’m going to have to seriously look at matchups.

Was this a deal you, the public, approve of?

Bad Fantasy Baseball Trade: Carlos Gomez for James Shields

One of the teams in my ESPN Fantasy Baseball League is obsessed with getting James Shields from me. This is the second trade proposal this season involving Big Game James and certainly not the last. The first time he wanted to give me catcher Salvador Perez for Shields. He was smart in that he did it immediately after Jonathan Lucroy hit the disabled list. He did this without realizing my backup catcher was Russell Martin, a very formidable replacement. This time the offer was for Milwaukee Brewers outfielder Carlos Gomez.

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In any other season this is a find trade. In 2015 it’s a dumb one for me to accept. Shields is pitching in the National League now in a pitcher-friendly park for the San Diego Padres. Even though he hasn’t been terrific, all signs point toward a better season ahead.

Gomez, on the other hand, has struggled after returning from the disabled list. He’s also playing for a bad team right now which will surely limit his run production. Gomez was never supposed to be this elite fantasy baseball player that he has become so when he plays poorly I’m going to wonder how much time he has left.

I’ll so no to this trade, but not before letting the other team sweat it out and think there’s a chance I could be so silly.

Daily Fantasy Baseball Advice for 4/22/2015: Nolan Arenado, Justin Upton, Johnny Cueto

Here’s some daily fantasy baseball advice for 4/22/2015:

Position Player to Play #1: Nolan Arenado

Not only is Colorado Rockies’ third baseman Nolan Arenado already off to a good start and someone you should consider on a regular basis, he’s also facing a pitcher who he has a .800 batting average against. The San Diego Padres are visiting Denver this week and even though it’s James Shields on the mound, I do not like his chances. Current Rockies are hitting .321 against Shieds with 8 home runs. You can safely add plenty of Rockies today including Arenado, Justin Morneau, and Carlos Gonzalez.

Position Player to Player #2: Justin Upton

On the other side of the field there are the Padres who come to Coors Field with a hot offense, in particular outfielder Justin Upton. Upton has a hit nearly every game this season and is facing pitcher Kyle Kendrick. This alone should make you interested in Upton as he is 8 for 23 against Kendrick with 2 home runs in his career. Expect plenty of opportunities to drive in runs and a big game from one of the Padres’ big bats.

Pitcher to Start: Johnny Cueto

Johnny Cueto goes for his first win of the season tonight against the Milwaukee Brewers and you better believe he has a good shot. The Brewers have Carlos Gomez and Jonathan Lucroy out of the lineup. The only player on the team with significant plate appearances against Cueto with success is Aramis Ramirez. Ramirez has struggled immensely this season and there’s no reason to believe he’ll get out of his slump tonight against one of the National League’s best.

The 2008 Tampa Bay Devil Rays: A Forgotten World Series Losing Team

Had the World Series opponent for the 2008 Tampa Bay Devil Rays been anyone other than the Philadelphia Phillies I would have been on board. However I grew up a suffering fan of the Phillies and had to hope for the worst against this team of mostly unknowns. Having gone from losing almost 100 games in 2007 to nearly winning 100 in 2008 and battling to the point of getting to the World Series, this was a very accomplished team that for the most part has been forgotten in spite of all of the talent they had.

The Offense

Evan Longoria arrived with the Devil Rays in 2008 and put together a Rookie of the Year winning season with 27 home runs, 85 RBIs, and a .272 batting average. The team wasn’t completely dependent on him though as they had a few other players with notable contributions.

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The best offensive threat the team had was first baseman Carlos Pena. Pena launched 31 home runs and knocked in 102 RBIs. He also drew 96 walks to help make up for his .247 batting average. Another guy getting on base a ton thanks to bases on balls was B.J. Upton who had 97 walks and a .383 on-base percentage. Along with his 44 stolen bases, the Devil Rays appeared to have a dominant threat at the top of the order.

Although he was the last out in the World Series, Eric Hinske was also a major reason why they got there in the first place. Hinske provided the team with the necessary skills a utility man must. He was third on the team in home runs with 20 and his versatility with the glove, although not so strong, was still a great benefit. The team should also be thankful for second baseman Akinori Iwamura whose career spontaneously combusted by 2010. Iwamura led the team with 152 games played and had a .274 batting average. It’s a silly argument, but Iwamura may have been the team’s glue.

The Pitching

Nobody on the 2008 Devil Rays’ pitching staff won 15 games. David Price only started one in the regular season along with 4 appearances in relief so at the time they didn’t have that one true dominant starter. What they did have were a couple really good pitchers including a 14-8 James Shields, an 11-9 Matt Garza, and a 12-8 Scott Kazmir. Edwin Jackson and Andy Sonnanstine also pitched well for the team–as well as needed.

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The team’s bullpen was however a bit shaky. Troy Percival, who seemed unstoppable during his days with the Wherever-They-Are-Now Angels, led the team in saves with 28, but also had a 4.53 ERA. Dan Wheeler would later fill in as the ninth-inning man and earn 13 saves with a much healthier 3.12 ERA.

The rest of the bullpen was pretty good too, most notably J.P. Howell and Grant Balfour. Howell would finish the season with a 2.22 ERA in 89.1 innings pitched while Balfour had his ERA down to 1.54 in 58.1 innings pitched.

The Fielding

Always underrated yet whenever you look at the great teams they’re almost always effective in this area is the team’s ability to catch the ball then throw the ball aka fielding. The team had a .985 fielding percentage which in modern-day baseball ranks in the upper half.

Longoria played a great third base for the team and would win his first Gold Glove the following season. He probably could have won the award in 2008 if he had played in more games. The team did win one Gold Glove this year and it was a bit of an unlikely candidate. First baseman Carlos Pena made only 2 errors all season for a .998 fielding percentage. Known more for his power, nobody could have guessed he would be the guy winning a fielding award and deserving it.

Fantasy Baseball Pitching Conundrum

Pitchers: Average Pitchers on Good Teams or Good Pitchers on Average Teams?

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San Diego Padres Signing James Shields Affects Teams All Over the MLB

How James Shields Signing with the Padres Can Impact the MLB

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About Homer Bailey’s Contract…

While doing some baseball research on player salaries, I came to realize Cincinnati Reds’ starting pitcher Homer Bailey is making a lot of money. Like a ridiculous amount. Enough where you’d wonder what you missed for him to deserve such a big contract.

On February 19, 2014 the Reds decided Bailey had performed well enough to earn a six-year $105 million contract. At the time, Bailey did have two no-hitters to his name, but he’s not really the type of pitcher you can expect that from on a nightly basis. In fact, at the age of 28, the pitcher he compares most to according to Baseball-Reference is Joe Blanton. Unless you’re in a pie eating contest, any comparison to Blanton is not a good thing.

Bailey’s contract is still light, however, in 2019 he’ll make $23 million. The next year is a mutual option where he can make $25 million. By this point $25 million won’t be all that much for a starting pitcher, especially if Bailey ever lives up to his first round/seventh overall draft status.

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Bailey isn’t a complete dud in terms of starting pitchers. He now has three straight seasons of an ERA at 3.71 or lower and if not for an injury in 2014 he would have had his third consecutive season with double-digit wins. Bailey has never received consideration for a Cy Young Award. He also has a career ERA of 4.17 and has never been named to an All-Star team. All of this considered, why did the Reds give him such a big contract?

My guess is that the Reds are very hopeful for Bailey’s future. He’s still only 28-years-old so his prime may not have even been reached. Although he compares most to Blanton at his age, the second player on the list is the much more talented James Shields.

Going on salary averages, Bailey ranks a lot higher than he probably deserves. His contract has him averaging $17.5 million which is equal to Tim Lincecum. At least in Lincecum’s case he once was the pitcher the Reds wish Bailey could be.

Is James Shields Really That Good?

Former free agent pitcher turned San Diego Padres’ ace James Shields is going to get paid a lot of money over the next four seasons. It’s not as much as many people though he’d get, but $75 million over four years is still almost $18.75 million a year more than my W-2 form says I made in 2014. I doubt I’m coming much closer in 2015.

Shields was the last big free agent pitcher to sign a contract. Who would have guessed in October or November that it would be the Padres to ink him?

As much as I like Big Game James, I have to wonder if he’s really even that good.

Shields has a career 3.72 ERA. This is only 0.08 more than John Smiley had for his career. I only use Smiley as the example because he was the 8th player Shields compares to most statistically according to Baseball-Reference.

Only once has Shields had an ERA under 3.00. In 9 seasons, he only has 3 seasons with an ERA below 3.50. Of those seasons, 2 occurred in the most recent years with the Kansas City Royals.

The biggest thing Shields gives any team are lots of innings pitched. This is both a blessing and a curse for him as an injury seems very apparent. Since his sophomore season, Shields has pitched 200 innings or more every year. He’s the ultimate gamer who always shows up for work. The thing is, he’s just not the best at his job or very close to it.

Only twice has Shields even received some consideration for the Cy Young Award. He finished 3rd in 2011 and 11th in 2013. He’s also just a one-time All-Star which says a lot about a 33-year-old making almost $20 million a year.

Shields has no major awards, no 20-win seasons, and his postseason ERA is 5.46. He’s also only 3-6 in playoff baseball including 2 losses in the 2014 World Series. Big Game James is a nickname I’m not sure fits him very well.

Is he good? Yeah.

Is he that good? Maybe not.

Zack Greinke: The 2014 MVP of the Kansas City Royals

How Zack Greinke was the MVP for the 2014 Kansas City Royals

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Rangers and Brewers Working a Trade for Yovani Gallardo

The Texas Rangers and Milwaukee Brewers are working a deal that will send pitcher Yovani Gallardo to the American League and join Yu Darvish on the depleted Rangers’ pitching staff.

Aside from his DUI in 2013, Gallardo has stayed out of trouble. Before 2014 he had a streak of 5 consecutive seasons of double-digit wins. In 2014, Gallardo was just 8-11, but with a 3.51 ERA.

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The biggest thing to wonder about Gallardo is where all of the strikeouts of gone to. He finished each season 2009-2012 with 200 or more. In the last two seasons he has failed to reach 150.

The addition of Gallardo to the Rangers would certainly help them out. The question after is whether the Brewers will respond with something else. As Joel Sherman suggests, the Brewers may be thinking long-term and go after free agent James Shields. I’m skeptical of this, but with the National League Central still open for anyone to compete it might be a good idea to at least speak with Shields and what his thoughts on beer, cheese, and Happy Days happens to be.