Angels reliever Scot Shields "could be designated for assignment soon," in the opinion of Mike DiGiovanna of the L.A. Times. Relievers Jason Bulger and Brian Stokes, both dealing with shoulder injuries, may return from the disabled list soon. Shields could be a roster casualty.
Shields, a 35-year-old righty, is a lifelong Angel. As DiGiovanna notes, he's the last remaining link to the '02 World Series champion team. Shields' control has never been great, but it's been terrible the last two years. Since 2009 he has a 6.23 ERA, 7.3 K/9, and 7.3 BB/9, with seven home runs allowed in 56.3 innings. He had knee surgery last summer.
Shields signed a three-year, $14.6MM extension in March of '07, a contract that began with the '08 season. Angels GM Bill Stoneman committed to four years of Shields at top dollar. He was 31 at the time and had compiled a staggering 284.6 relief innings over 2004-06.
