Jon Daniels finally came out and said what we all pretty much assumed on Monday when the Texas Rangers general manager finally went public with the fact the Rangers are not true players in the sweepstakes for free agent starting pitcher James Shields.
Reports surfaced over the weekend that Shields had an offer from one of those "mystery teams" for $105 million over five years, so of course, speculation ran wild that the Rangers were that mystery team because the Rangers are seemingly always that mystery team.
But not this time.
"We're not in that game," Daniels told MLB.com. "We like the pitcher, he would be a good fit for our team. He is a talented strike-thrower. But we're not in the mix."
It's the right move if money is going to be that big. Shields is a reliable innings eater, but in no way, shape or form is he a $100-million pitcher.
Daniels then went on to tell MLB.com that he does want to add another starting pitcher, but it'll likely be another Ross Detwiler type to throw in the mix with the Nick Tepesches and Nick Martinezes of the world competing for a spot in the back of the rotation behind Yu Darvish, Derek Holland and Colby Lewis.
Remember, Martin Perez should be ready to roll by midsummer sometime after Tommy John surgery last year, but the general rule of thumb there is that a pitcher isn't back to full strength until the season after he actually comes back from such surgery.
