Chicago White Sox: James Shields is an Overlooked Trade Option

Jose Abreu is understandably dominating the Chicago White Sox headlines as a hot trade commodity.  However, Shields should be looked at as a piece that could solve rotation questions marks.

James Shields currently holds a 4-10 record with a 4.43 ERA for the Chicago White Sox.  Although those basic numbers do not look great, they should not necessarily be used to judge a pitcher’s overall performance.

FIP and WHIP are stats I tend to look at the most over win-loss records and ERA.

FIP stands for fielding independent pitching.  It estimates a pitcher’s ability to prevent runs independently from the performance of the defense.  The formula for FIP uses the stats that would not involve the defense.  These stats are strikeouts, walks, hit by pitches, and home runs allowed.

WHIP is a little more simple as it is simply walks plus hits allowed per the number of innings pitched.

Although Shields does not possess the lowest FIP or WHIP in the league, he is better in those two categories than many of the most talked about trade candidates.

Through 126.0 innings pitched, Shields holds a 4.49 FIP and a 1.270 WHIP.

If you take a look at the Top 75 Trade Candidates on MLBTradeRumors, Cole Hamels, Tyson Ross, and Matt Harvey are ranked 7-9.  Jake Odorizzi and Mike Fiers are ranked 29-30.

James Shields is listed last.  By last, I do not mean he is 75th on the list.  He is last in the “Also Considered” section at the end of the article.  This is not meant to be a knock on the MLBTradeRumors article.  It is a very well put together article that is worth a read.  I am merely using this list to further explain how Shields is being overlooked.

Cole Hamels holds a 5.05 FIP and a 1.335 WHIP.  Tyson Ross holds a 4.39 FIP and a 1.274 WHIP.  Matt Harvey holds a 4.47 FIP and a 1.281 WHIP.  Jake Odorizzi holds a 4.64 FIP and a 1.446 WHIP.  Mike Fiers holds a 4.67 FIP and a 1.223 WHIP.

Although C.C. Sabathia is not a trade candidate, many teams would love to have the veteran southpaw on their team.  James Shields is essentially the right-handed version of Sabathia in 2018.

C.C. Sabathia holds a 4.53 FIP and a 1.270 WHIP this season, which are both very similar to the FIP and WHIP Shields holds.

According to Fangraphs, Shields has a 15.3 soft hit percentage, a 51.0 medium hit percentage, and a 33.7 hard hit percentage.  Sabathia has a 25.0 soft hit percentage, a 45.3 medium hit percentage, and a 29.7 hard hit percentage.  Sabathia has allowed 14 home runs in 100.0 innings pitched.  Conversely, Shields has only allowed 15 home runs in 126.0 innings pitched.  C.C. allows 8.8 hits per nine innings while Shields allows 7.9 hits per nine innings.  C.C. also strikes out 6.9 hitters per nine innings while Shields strikes out 6.6 hitters per nine innings.

As there are reports of teams checking in on these five starters, why are we not seeing reports about teams checking in on Big Game James?

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Shields would not be a large payroll gamble if he did not perform well on a new team.  Even though he has a $21 million salary for this season, $11 million is being paid by the San Diego Padres.  Therefore, a team would only owe the pro-rated amount left of $10 million this season.  Shield does have a team option for next season, but that can be bought out for $2 million.

If Shields is moved, and pitches well, the $16 million team option next season would be an added bonus for the team acquiring him.

The Tampa Bay Times listed James Shields on their Mount Rushmore of Rays with Evan Longoria, Carl Crawford, and David Price due to his solid performance over seven years with the team.

Between his 11 games of playoff experience with the Tampa Bay Rays and Kansas City Royals alongside his under the radar 2018 season, Shields could help a contender looking for a starter.

Next: Midseason top 10 prospects for each team

The Chicago White Sox do have a chance to cash in on one of the best trade chips on the market that many have overlooked in the media.