Shields unlikely to be ready for spring training

Scot Shields was perhaps the elite setup man of the aughts (we really need a better name for 2000-2009), posting a 2.98 ERA from 2002-2008 while averaging around 90 innings per season, but ended the decade on a low note with an injury wrecked 2009 campaign and is now unlikely to be ready for spring training. Shields had knee surgery about eight months ago, but has not been cleared to throw off a mound yet and Angels pitchers report to camp next Wednesday. He’s still hoping to be ready for Opening Day, but that seems unlikely given that Shields is 35, logged just 18 innings last season before being shut down, and has yet to get back on a mound eight months later.

I don’t know how quickly I’ll get on a mound. We’ll probably have to take it slow. We’ve got a whole month and a half or two months to get ready. I know my body. It’s close to being 100 percent, and we’ve still got two months.

Shields may still believe that he can be ready for Opening Day, but the Angels’ lack of confidence in him returning to form was shown by overpaying Fernando Rodney with a two-year, $11 million deal despite already having Kevin Jepsen around as a potential setup man for Brian Fuentes. Even if he’s healthy, Shields figures to begin the season working middle relief.