

The Boston Red Sox have at least considered James Shields.

The Red Sox met with Shields on Wednesday night at his San Diego-area home, a source told WEEI.com’s Rob Bradford. MLBDailyDish.com’s Chris Cotillo first reported that a meeting between the sides was scheduled.

The Red Sox, of course, have been busy the last couple of days. They reportedly landed three pitchers — Wade Miley, Rick Porcello and Justin Masterson — at the Major League Baseball winter meetings in San Diego after losing out to the Chicago Cubs in the Jon Lester sweepstakes.

One can debate whether Shields should be considered an “ace,” but he’d certainly be Boston’s best starter if the club signed the right-hander. Red Sox general manager Ben Cherington didn’t rule out additional offseason moves while speaking with reporters Thursday before leaving the winter meetings.

Shields, who turns 33 this month, has been incredibly durable throughout his nine-year career. He has made at least 31 starts and has tossed at least 200 innings each of the last eight seasons.

Shields is coming off another solid campaign with the Kansas City Royals in which he went 14-8 with a 3.21 ERA in 34 regular-season starts. He owns a 114-90 record and 3.72 ERA in 286 career appearances (285 starts).