MLB trade rumors: Red Sox should be interested in James Shields

Some old-school Red Sox panic hit the streets of Boston Wednesday as the Sox fell, 4-3, to the Tigers – with Detroit completing a three-game sweep. It was the first time the Red Sox have been swept all season and with the MLB trade deadline just days away (Aug. 1), there is surely a sense of urgency on Yawkey Way.

Fittingly, a new name appeared on the trade market Wednesday and it’s a name in which Dave Dombrowski will surely ask about. MLB Network’s Jon Morosi tweeted out Wednesday, “James Shields is available via trade, sources say, and #WhiteSox could capitalize on spike in value: 1.71 ERA over last six starts.”

Shields’ stock has plummeted across the majors since his tremendous 2011 season with the Rays in which he owned a 2.82 ERA and racked up 16 wins.The righty has already been traded once this season as the Padres shipped him to Chicago in exchange for Erik Johnson and Fernando Tatis Jr. in early June.

He would surely cost less than the other White Sox pitcher rumored to be available, in Chris Sale, but as Morosi pointed out – Shields’ value should be higher than it was the first time he was sold off this year.