James Shields Rumors: Rays, Angels In Trade Talks

The Tampa Bay Rays and the Los Angeles Angels are in talks about a trade involving SP James Shields, according to ESPN's Tim Kurkjian.

The trade would send Shields to the Angels in exchange for center fielder Peter Bourjos and catcher Hank Conger.

Kurkjian says that a possible deal might send Ervin Santana to Tampa Bay and that the money involved in the deal complicates things.

The Angels have been on the lookout for starting pitching this month as they've seen Santana struggle and don't appear confident in the abilities of Garrett Richards or Jerome Williams going forward.

The Rays have seen little to no offensive production from the catcher position this season, and may view Conger as a solution to that problem. Bourjos would presumably be a backup or defensive replacement type for the Rays, unless they decided to move B.J. Upton before the trade deadline. Upton can become a free agent after the season, so Bourjos might be a long term solution in CF.

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Should the Angels give up Bourjos for Shields?

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