It’s little wonder the Padres, who are 23-34 this season after going 74-88 in 2015 following a trade and free agent spree, are so popular.
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The White Sox have acquired right-hander James Shields and cash considerations from the Padres for right-hander Erik Johnson and shortstop Fernando Tatis, Jr.
In 44 career starts with the Padres, Shields owns a record of 15-14 but has amassed a 4.10 ERA. He had pitched at least six innings in every start of the year before the last one and had allowed three runs or less in eight of his first 10 starts.
Several Sox players were interested Sunday to see what their new teammate can bring to a team in need of a shake-up after losing 18 of 24 games. He has made 11 postseason starts, including one in the 2008 World Series with the Rays and two in the 2014 World Series with the Royals, though his 3-6 record and 5.46 ERA in the playoffs leave something to be desired.
It’s just an out-of-order move, especially since Miguel Gonzalez has looked like an OK back-end starter and the Sox haven’t been able to win Sale and Quintana starts with regularity lately.
Cashner missed time in May with a hamstring issue, and he’s had an unimpressive season otherwise thus far (4.79 ERA over 47 innings). If we assume he pitches at that level, we can assume that he will probably approximate a 4.00 ERA pitching in Petco Park.
The Padres will cover $29 million of the $56 million remaining on Shields’ contract. The White Sox entered Saturday with the American League’s best team ERA at 3.53.
It’s been a tough season for Teixeira, who’s batting.180 with three homers and 12 RBIs.
Last year, he hit 31 home runs, drove in 79 runs and was selected an All-Star.
On the other end of it, the deal confirms that the signing of Shields by San Diego before last season was pretty much a disaster. Shields was originally signed in February 2015 for four years and $75 million, and he has $58 million left on that deal. San Diego will pick up more than half of Shields’ salary moving forward as the team begins a full-on rebuild.
The Chicago White Sox singled out on a pitcher and got him. Johnson is expected to take Shields’ place in the San Diego rotation.
It came three days after Padres executive chairman Ron Fowler criticized the team’s recent performances as “embarrassing” and “pathetic”, and called out Shields for his poor start Tuesday at Seattle.
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According to reports, the Padres wanted a high-profile prospect from the White Sox, with Tim Anderson’s name coming up in talks, but Chicago balked at the high price and refused to deal from the very cream of the crop in their minor league system.
