UNSHIELDED, SHIELDS SPEARED BY SIN CITY

Former Brooklyn starter James Shields may have whiplash!

After being dealt away by Moabs GM Eric Caskey in a huge multiplayer swap in the 2010 stretch drive, Shields was packaged away in the offseason by Philadelphia GM Ronald Melkonian for New England 2B Ian Kinsler.

Despite that (and his low salary), New England ended up not having room for a proven starter still in his 20's, cutting Shields from their 25-man roster and making the young man the most coveted free agent still available as the 2011 off-season winds to a close. Many teams pursued him, and as it happens Sin City GM Anthony Guerra pursued him with the most vigor, inking Shields to a one-year deal for less than $700,000 and (presumably) a role in Sin City's rotation. Sin City also added versatile IF Ryan Theriot to their organization.

As for New England, the roster spot they saved by virtue of not keeping Shields will now be taken by former Madtown 3B Scott Rolen, who signed a major-league contract that will pay him more than $3 million this year. Curiously, this likely means that one of the club's other sluggers (Miguel Cabera? Adam Dunn? Justin Morneau?) will see their playing time reduced in order to the get the former Gold Glover in the lineup. New England also added veteran C David Ross (formerly of Yuma) to their roster, where he will likely compete for a backup job.

Rolen's contract was huge, but leave it to Philadelphia GM Ronald Melkonian to make the biggest free-agent splash of the off-season, inking RHP John Lackey ($5.38 M) and OF Jason Bay ($3.75 M) to one-year pacts. Lackey was a well-paid .500 pitcher last year with the Horned Toads, who would've needed to pay him even more (over $20,000,000) to keep him. Jason Bay, meanwhile, became expendable in Worcester after injuries robbed him of his effectiveness. Bay will likely begin the 2011 season on the DL, but Philadelphia no doubt expects him to return to the production he displayed in BARB between 2006-2009. Despite the big-money contracts, Philadelphia still boasts a payroll well below the league average, the better to facilitate (you guessed it) future trades....

St. Francis, which added several veterans in the draft (IF Juan Uribe, LHP Scott Downs, 1B Paul Konerko), also made a big splash, signing OF Vernon Wells to a one-year contract guaranteeing the former East Bay star $5.25 M. To add Wells, the Friars were forced to begin the season carrying just ten pitchers, sending another free-agent signee (durable middleman Matt Guerrier) to their minor-league affiliate.

A number of other teams also added relievers as insurance policies. Casselton added well-traveled RHP Brandon McCarthy, Pottsylvania inked former Brooklyn setup man Pat Neshek, Yuma picked up St. Francis's old closer Frank Francisco, and Los Angeles added a pair of arms (RHP Matt Lindstrom and LHP Brian Fuentes), with the latter (and his $2.25 M contract) being added to the parent club.

Other free agents were added to fulfill needs that had emerged when clubs lost unprotected players to the draft. Yuma, having lost C Russell Martin to Worcester in this year's draft, also picked up future Hall of Famer Ivan Rodriguez after New England had let 'Pudge' know they were going in another direction behind the plate, which is to say the opposite of ancient. GM Chris Melkonian's club had also victimized another rival, taking SS Rafael Furcal from Casselton, so the Horned Toads then went after former AC/BC starter Miguel Tejada, inking him to a $1.5 million deal that will guarantee him a spot on the 25-man roster.

In the less-newsworthy department, other clubs simply added a player as insurance, with Frostbite Falls picking up former Arizona utilityman Mark Ellis, while Pottsylvania added former AC/BC starter Brendan Ryan to fill a similar role.

At press time, Brooklyn and Central California had signed no free agents.