The Rays have more decisions to make this week
The Tampa Bay Rays have informed RHP James Shields they are picking up his $10.25-million option for next season. The team also holds an option on Shields for 2014.
Shields was 15-10 in 2012 with a 3.52 ERA in 227 2/3 innings pitched. Shields along with ace David Price have been the subject of relentless trade rumors. The team is on record of not necessarily making a trade from its pitching depth. Shields has pitched 200+ innings for six consecutive seasons.
“We said this last year and I think people thought we were just playing the market a little bit,’ GM Andrew Friedman said. “But we’re not going to be flippant about our pitching depth in that it’s everything to us to have five really good starting pitchers with the requisite depth behind it. Obviously if something lines up that makes sense, that makes us better, we’re going to do it. But if it doesn’t we’re not going to say, hey, we have this pitching depth and we just need to do it just to do it.””
The Rays have until Friday to do the same with the options on pitcher Fernando Rodney, catcher Jose Molina and designated hitter Luke Scott and until midnight Friday to negotiate with free-agent center fielder B.J. Upton, pitchers J.P. Howell, Joel Peralta and Kyle Farnsworth, infielder Jeff Keppinger and first baseman Carlos Pena.
