A few days ago, the Kansas City Royals acquired RHP James Shields and RHP Wade Davis from the Tampa Rays for uber prospect OF Wil Myers, RHP Jake Odorizzi, LHP Mike Montgomery and 3B Patrick Leonard. A lot of skepticism has come about from Royals fans as to why they had to do this deal. I have three reasons why this was the best deal General Manager Dayton Moore has done since coming to KC in 2006:
1. A legitimate ace. The average fan knows that starting pitching is huge in baseball. Not every team can say they have a guy that will take the ball every fifth day, go for over 200 innings, and keep an ERA below 4. The Royals now have that in James Shields. With a great offense and an even better defense, an ace-caliber pitcher is a huge boost.
2. No more “prospects”. Prospects can be a great thing to have. But what happens if they are nothing but prospects? More times than not, prospects don’t pan out to what they’re hyped to be. James Shields IS good. We THINK Wil Myers and gang will be good. See the difference?
1. A legitimate ace. The average fan knows that starting pitching is huge in baseball. Not every team can say they have a guy that will take the ball every fifth day, go for over 200 innings, and keep an ERA below 4. The Royals now have that in James Shields. With a great offense and an even better defense, an ace-caliber pitcher is a huge boost.
2. No more “prospects”. Prospects can be a great thing to have. But what happens if they are nothing but prospects? More times than not, prospects don’t pan out to what they’re hyped to be. James Shields IS good. We THINK Wil Myers and gang will be good. See the difference?
3. The future. James Shields is going to be 31 next month, putting him right in the middle of his prime. Wade Davis, who might have an even higher upside, is only 27, just entering his prime. People say that Kansas City is giving all of their future to the Rays in this deal, but none of those guys were cemented as part of the future. Only Odorizzi had any MLB experience (2 appearances in September). The future for KC is the big bats and strong defense of their young core players already in the Majors.
This deal was a great deal for both sides, however I think the Royals faithful will only see it that way in due time. As a die-hard Royals fan, nothing has frustrated me more over the last few years than the starting pitching. Our “Boys in Blue” have addressed that, and I expect a great product at Kauffman Stadium this spring.
@Ross_Vader
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This deal was a great deal for both sides, however I think the Royals faithful will only see it that way in due time. As a die-hard Royals fan, nothing has frustrated me more over the last few years than the starting pitching. Our “Boys in Blue” have addressed that, and I expect a great product at Kauffman Stadium this spring.
@Ross_Vader
Archives
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