Did the Ray fold on 2013?

[weird-O]

The lost Upton, and now they traded 2 of their starting pitchers: Shields and Davis

http://espn.go.com/mlb/hotstove12/st...yals-wil-myers

[bmore_ken]

Shields I get. He's going to be a free agent next season and will probably have money thrown at him from the Yankees or Sox. May as well get something for him. Davis I don't get because he relatively cheap and they have options on him from the story in your link.

[Far from home]

Shields I get. He's going to be a free agent next season and will probably have money thrown at him from the Yankees or Sox. May as well get something for him. Davis I don't get because he relatively cheap and they have options on him from the story in your link.

It was probably the only way they could get exactly what they want.
They got a pretty good haul from the Royals.

[hector]

It was probably the only way they could get exactly what they want.
They got a pretty good haul from the Royals.

I agree about Tampa's haul. I predict that both Shields and Davis will be average at best when pitching for the Royals.

[weird-O]

I agree about Tampa's haul. I predict that both Shields and Davis will be average at best when pitching for the Royals.

really? Shields was very good in a vastly superior ALe division. pitching in the ALc is going to be a breeze compared to what he had to do w/ TB.

[bmore_ken]

really? Shields was very good in a vastly superior ALe division. pitching in the ALc is going to be a breeze compared to what he had to do w/ TB.

Shields is in a contract year, I expect him to kick butt for his next contract. Do the Royals really have enough offense to make a run though? Shields is basically a one year rental

[hector]

really? Shields was very good in a vastly superior ALe division. pitching in the ALc is going to be a breeze compared to what he had to do w/ TB.

Shields has had two very good years after a bunch of average seasons. I expect him to fall back toward average next year. Let's check back on this next September.

[weird-O]

Shields is in a contract year, I expect him to kick butt for his next contract. Do the Royals really have enough offense to make a run though? Shields is basically a one year rental

that's a fair question. it seems like they lost a bunch of high scoring games. on the otherhand, I remember being impressed that Butler could get 100 RBI on that team. so I guess they're planning on going toe to toe with everyone's best pitchers, and hope the division takes a step backward for them.

if this Myers kid is everything they say he is, the Royals will regret the trade in the long term. but these guys are like the O's, they never get this close to playing competitive baseball. you have to go for it when you can.

[durango46]

Looks like the Royals won't be moving Butler now if they ever were.

[Grindelwald]

Shields is in a contract year, I expect him to kick butt for his next contract. Do the Royals really have enough offense to make a run though? Shields is basically a one year rental

He has a club option for 2014. Pretty fair trade for both sides.

[FlaFrank]

James is signed through 2014 and has a million dollar buy out clause. Most here have mixed emotions. Shields was the leader of the staff and did a number of nice community projects. Guess is, they had to include Davis to get the return. Never underestimate this organization. They recieved the Cubs farm system (almost) for Matt Garza. Now, they get the prized prospects from KC. Time will tell. Such a luxury, even without Big Game James The Rays have..Price, Hellickson, Neimann, Moore, Archer, Cobb. Locking up Longoria for life was a nice move. They've also tightened the infield defense with acquisitions. The business plan seems simple. Develope pitching, cultivate position players (Crawford, Upton, Baldelli, Longoria, Jennings, and others) have them under team control til they near 30 and allow them to move on or trade for another organizations top prospects and the cycle is renewed. As far as "fold"...don't see it. Not with Maddon.

[FlaFrank]

Oh, forgot to mention, Rays traded Delmon Young for Garza and Bartlett which were the missing pieces that led to 2008 WS. At the time, there were many doubters here.

[weird-O]

James is signed through 2014 and has a million dollar buy out clause. Most here have mixed emotions. Shields was the leader of the staff and did a number of nice community projects. Guess is, they had to include Davis to get the return. Never underestimate this organization. They recieved the Cubs farm system (almost) for Matt Garza. Now, they get the prized prospects from KC. Time will tell. Such a luxury, even without Big Game James The Rays have..Price, Hellickson, Neimann, Moore, Archer, Cobb. Locking up Longoria for life was a nice move. They've also tightened the infield defense with acquisitions. The business plan seems simple. Develope pitching, cultivate position players (Crawford, Upton, Baldelli, Longoria, Jennings, and others) have them under team control til they near 30 and allow them to move on or trade for another organizations top prospects and the cycle is renewed. As far as "fold"...don't see it. Not with Maddon.

thanks for sharing.

from what I've been hearing, KC gets the better deal up front, TB gets the better deal long term. but TB needs offense. their 2012 success seemed to be all because of their pitching. trading their #2 pitcher, after losing a heavy hitter in their line up, and is a bold move.

[bmore_ken]

He has a club option for 2014. Pretty fair trade for both sides.

Can the Royals afford his $12M salary for 2014?

[FlaFrank]

thanks for sharing.

from what I've been hearing, KC gets the better deal up front, TB gets the better deal long term. but TB needs offense. their 2012 success seemed to be all because of their pitching. trading their #2 pitcher, after losing a heavy hitter in their line up, and is a bold move.

Exactly right. They won 90 with no hitting, no Longoria, Luke Scott being injured all year, Carlos Pena not producing and journeymen filling in for Evan. Feeling here was that they didn't make the post season with one of the best pitching staffs in MLB history..so a bat or 2 is needed and the abundance of pitching could be used to obtain that player. They are sky high on Myers. They did ad Escobar at short which gives a super glove and a SS who hits. Would't be a surprise to see another deal for a bat.

[Grindelwald]

Can the Royals afford his $12M salary for 2014?

I guess so, I can't see why they'd trade Wil Myers for a 1 year rental. That would be insanely stupid.

[jabba2]

It might hurt Tampa this year, if Myers struggles and Shields has a good year. But the consensus is Tampa got more valuable pieces in the trade long term. Which is kind of how they do business. KC's GM might be feeling some heat to win.

[weird-O]

I guess so, I can't see why they'd trade Wil Myers for a 1 year rental. That would be insanely stupid.

my take on that trade is that they feel like they've gotten within striking distance of the post season for the first time since the early/mid-80's. what do they have to lose. Myers sounds like a good player, but what good is a single outstanding player on a team of fillers (which is what KC usually is).

they had Beltran and nothing else for awhile. before that they had Damon and not much else. the 2 briefly overlapped. now both players are a distant memory. KC fans will probably see Myers killing it in MLB after Shields and Davis are long gone. but that won't hurt as much if they get to play in the post season for 1 or 2 seasons.

the ALc is weak. and with NY & Bos showing weakness, this is the time for KC to go for broke. what's the worst that can happen. they'll be a 4th place team...again.

[Jimmy Jazz]

KC has some good young position players and bullpen, they need starting pitching. This is a good move for them.