Yoenis Cespedes opting out, James Shields opting in

Yoenis Cespedes, outfielder for the New York Mets, will be opting out of his contract, electing to become a free agent, per Jon Heyman.  Meanwhile, Chicago White Sox pitcher James Shields will not be exercising his opt-out, choosing instead to forego free agency.

Neither of these moves are terribly surprising.  Cespedes didn't find the free agent market last year as attractive as he had hoped, and returned to the Mets on a three year, $75 million deal that allowed him to opt out after this season and forfeit the remaining 2 years and $47.5M on his contract.  The Rangers will, I suppose, take a look at Cespedes as a potential free agent target, but his likely price tag would seem to put him out of their reach.

Shields, meanwhile, was someone who has been talked about as a potential Ranger since...well, as far back as I can remember, really.  San Diego signed him to a 4 year, $75M deal prior to the 2015 season, and last offseason there was talk that Jon Daniels might get with his former cohort (and current Padre g.m.) A.J. Preller to bring Shields to Texas.  Instead, Shields started the year with the Padres, was awful, was shipped to the White Sox early in the season, and continued to be awful.  With a guaranteed $44 million due to him over the final two years of his deal, and coming off a season where he put up a 5.85 ERA in 181.2 IP, Shields wisely figured that no one was going to want to guarantee him a similar amount heading into his age-35 year.