Red(s)HawksFan said:Big thing missing in all the Panda for Shields wishcasting...Shields has an opt-out after 2016 (in lieu of a no-trade clause). He reportedly was seeking to sign on the west coast to be closer to home, which is part of why he was a late sign and barely on the radar for the Sox and others. If he's traded to the Red Sox, I would expect it's all but guaranteed he'd opt out of his deal. So while from a financial standpoint, that might be a plus (particularly compared to the Sandoval commitment), it isn't one that the Red Sox should be handing over long range cost-controlled prospects/players like JBJ or Marrero for. Straight up Shields for Panda is one thing, throwing in additional value for the privilege of having James Shields for at most a year and change...not a good move.
I don't get this calculus at all: The Sox are on the hook for Sandoval in 2017-2019. If Shields opted out, then they'd have turned a blocked CF who can't get over the Mendoza line, and an org SS, into a $60M get-out-of-jail-free card and a hole at 3B where they can put a different replacement level player. How much surplus value do you ascribe to JBJ and Marrero?