Preller Continues Tear, Padres Sign Shields

While the Texas Rangers haven't done a lot of moving and shaking this offseason, general manager Jon Daniels' old right-hand man A.J. Preller is making all kinds of noise in San Diego.

It was formally announced Monday that Preller and the Padres continued their wild offseason of handing out money and swinging deals by signing free agent starter James Shields to a four-year deal with $75 million with a club option for a fifth year that could take the deal to $91 million.

Shields was the biggest name starter left on the market after Max Scherzer signed with Washington last month. He helped lead the Kansas City Royals to the World Series in October and has pitched at least 200 innings in every year of his career with the exception of his first one.

Preller is making the Padres a force to be reckoned with in the NL West that has recently been dominated by the San Francisco Giants and Los Angeles Dodgers. Now, there's another big boy in town with the acquisitions of Matt Kemp, Wil Myers and Justin Upton, among others.

Now Shields will provide a big boost to a young rotation that was already looking pretty promising.

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