The White Sox still need to figure out their James Shields problem

When the Chicago White Sox and Tampa Bay Rays meet Monday night in the Windy City, let’s be honest, there aren’t too many postseason implications. Strike that, there are zero postseason implications.

The White Sox prevented the Indians from clinching the AL Central on Sunday, and that might be their final meaningful contribution to the 2016 season. They finish with four games against the Rays, then three against the Minnesota Twins, both whom are also mathematically eliminated from postseason play.

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That’s not to say the White Sox don’t have things to pay attention to in these final games. There are question marks headed into 2017 and one of the big ones is on the mound Monday night.

We’re talking about James Shields, who has been with the White Sox since a June trade from San Diego and that’s more than long enough to inspire groans from south siders. We’ll see, however, if he can end the season on a good note, since Rays-White Sox is the MLB Free Game of the Day on Yahoo Sports. You can stream the game starting at 8:10 p.m. ET on Yahoo’s Sports Home, MLB index, video home and this very post. Local blackouts apply, per MLB rules.

Shields’ entire line for 2016 looks bad: 5-18 with a 5.98 ERA. His line in Chicago looks even worse: 3-8 with a 7.11 ERA. Yep, that ERA will inspire a big gulp.

His walks are up (4.11 per nine innings compared to 1.74 in 2014), his homers allowed are up (2.03 per nine innings compared to 0.91 in 2014) and his strikeouts have gone the opposite direction (6.51 per nine innings, compared to 9.61 last season). It ain’t pretty, especially considering that Shields hasn’t deal with any major injuries (that we know of). It may just be the reality of his heavy workload all these years.

Shields, 34, was never the greatest pitcher in baseball, but he was a 200-inning guy for nine straight seasons dating back to 2007 when he was with the Rays. That takes its toll on a dude’s right arm. This season will be the first since his rookie year in 2006 that he didn’t hit 200. He’s at 168.2 innings headed into Monday night’s game.

He’s tied to a four-year, $75 million contract through the end of 2018. So one way or another, the White Sox need to figure out what to do with two more seasons of James Shields.

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Mike Oz is the editor of Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at mikeozstew@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @MikeOz