Rangers met with James Shields at Winter Meetings

SAN DIEGO -- With Jon Lester off the market, teams looking for starting pitching are likely to turn to free-agent starter James Shields, whose market is expected to fully develop in the coming days. Though little has been said to this point about Shields' market, the right-hander is in San Diego meeting with teams this week to gauge who is interested.

According to sources close to the situation, the Rangers met with Shields and his representatives over the weekend and are expected to be serious contenders to sign the right-hander as they survey the starting pitching market. The team has also reportedly showed interest in free agent Justin Masterson as well as trade candidates Dillon Gee and Wade Miley, but may be looking to make a bigger splash with the signing of someone like Shields.

Texas is slated to have Yu Darvish and Derek Holland atop a rotation that is full of question marks due to injury concerns about Martin Perez and Matt Harrison. The team is likely to add one or two starters this winter, with Shields looking like a definite possibility.