Report: Rays are picking up James Shields' option

The Tampa Bay Rays have told starting pitcher James Shields they are going to pick up his $10.25 million option for the 2013 season, reports Marc Topkin of tampabay.com.

The Rays are picking up Shields' option. (US Presswire)

The Tampa Bay Rays have told starting pitcher James Shields they are going to pick up his $10.25-million option for the 2013 season, reports Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times.

Shields, 30, went 15-10 with a 3.52 ERA and 1.17 WHIP and 223 strikeouts in 227 2/3 innings last season. He was an All-Star and finished third in the AL Cy Young voting in 2011, when he had a 2.82 ERA, 11 complete games and four shutouts.

Of note here: This doesn't mean Shields is going to be part of the 2013 Rays rotation. With such a thin crop of starting pitchers on the free-agency market, Shields will garner significant trade interest. The Rays would still be left with David Price, Jeremy Hellickson, Matt Moore, Alex Cobb, Jeff Niemann and Chris Archer as starting options for 2013, should Shields be traded.

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