Rumor roundup: James Shields, Josh Johnson, Vernon Wells

The latest on two of the premier starting pitchers rumored to be available at the deadline, as well as Vernon Wells.

By Navin Vaswani

Jul 27, 2012 at 11:36 am ET • 2 min read

Update: The Marlins are asking for teams' top two or three prospects in exchange for Josh Johnson, tweeted ESPN's Jerry Crasnick. Those prospects -- think Texas' Jurickson Profar, Baltimore's Dylan Bundy and/or Manny Machado, and Toronto's Travis d'Arnaud -- are "just to get talks moving," Crasnick also tweeted. Unless Miami's asking price comes down, expect Johnson to stay with the Marlins.

The latest on Tampa Bay's James Shields and Miami's Josh Johnson, two of the premier starting pitchers rumored to be available before Tuesday's non-waiver trade deadline, and the Angels' forgotten man, Vernon Wells.

Teams aren't being scared off by Shields' struggles this season, wrote FOXSports.com's Ken Rosenthal. Shields is 2-4 in his last 10 starts (64.1 innings), with a 5.18 ERA. He's allowed 82 hits and 37 earned runs over that span. In his last seven starts, Shields has an ERA of 6.15, Rosenthal noted, but the Angels "are undeterred" in their attempt to get him, major league sources said.
When looking at Shields' advanced numbers, there's nothing wrong with him. His fastball velocity (91.8 mph) is the highest it has ever been, and the same can be said about his 8.78 strikeout rate. His 3.84 FIP and 3.46 xFIP are both below his career numbers. While Shields' 2.88 walk rate is also a career high, he's been a victim of bad luck this season, as evidenced by his .340 BABIP.
The Rangers and Dodgers are also in the mix for Shields, wrote CBSSports.com's Jon Heyman.
The Braves and Cardinals are also interested in Shields, according to Rosenthal.
Shields has bounced back from a tough season before, in 2011. He's making $7 million this season, with a $9 million club option in 2013 ($1.5 million buyout), and a $12 million club option in 2014 ($1 million buyout).
The Marlins "want a ton" for Johnson, tweeted ESPN's Jerry Crasnick.
Heyman wrote on Thursday the Marlins want a "Teixeira-like" package for Johnson, who's under contract next year for $13.75 million.
Finally, Wells was linked by a general manager to the Pittsburgh Pirates, tweeted the New York Post's Joel Sherman. The Angels don't have any room for Wells in the outfield, and would have to eat just about all of the $52 million left on his contract. Sherman speculated Wells and cash could potentially be moved for Kevin Correia, who was recently sent to the Pirates' bullpen to make room for newly acquired Wandy Rodriguez.