KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The Kansas City Royals have slowly and methodically allowed their top prospects to climb through their farm system in recent years, piecing together a team they believe can compete in the wide-open American League Central.
All that’s been missing has been the pitching.
They dipped into the farm system to solve that problem, too.
The Royals sent top prospects Wil Myers and Jake Odorizzi along with two other minor leaguers to the Tampa Bay Rays on Sunday night for former All-Star James Shields and fellow right-hander Wade Davis, making an aggressive move to bolster a rotation that was one of the worst in the major leagues last season.
“We have to start winning games at the major league level, and the way you develop a winning culture is by winning major league games,” Royals general manager Dayton Moore said. “It’s time for us to start winning at the major league level.”
Kansas City, which hasn’t had a winning season since 2003, has long had one of the best farm systems in baseball, and slowly the cream has risen to the big league level – first baseman Eric Hosmer, shortstop Alcides Escobar, third baseman Mike Moustakas and catcher Salvador Perez form a fine nucleus. But there’s been a dearth of starting pitching for years, and that’s what Moore and the rest of the front office have been trying to fix this offseason.
He’s already re-signed Jeremy Guthrie to a $25 million, three-year deal, and took on former All-Star Ervin Santana and $12 million of his contract from the Angels. But the trade for Shields and Davis is Moore’s most aggressive move yet, giving Kansas City the ace it has been lacking since trading away Zack Greinke, along with another piece that could fit in the rotation or the bullpen.
“When you can acquire a pitcher like James Shields and Wade Davis, we have to do it, because that’s what we’ve committed to our team – we’ve committed to our organization,” Moore said. “It’s important that we start winning games.”
Along with giving up Myers, an outfielder widely voted the minor leagues’ top player last season, the Royals also traded away Odorizzi, a talented right-hander who should soon compete for a spot in the Rays’ rotation. Left-hander Mike Montgomery and third baseman Patrick Leonard also are headed to the Rays, while the Royals will receive a player to be named or cash.
“We’re constantly working to balance the present and the future, and always trying to thread the needle,” Rays executive vice president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman said. “As an organization we rely more on the contributions of our young players basically than anyone else in baseball, and with this trade we’re hoping to replenish our system and add a lot of players we feel can help us sustain this run of success that we’ve had for the last five years.”
Shields, who turns 31 this month, has been a stalwart in the Tampa Bay rotation the past seven seasons. He was an All-Star two years ago, when he went 16-12 with a 2.82 ERA and finished third in the American League Cy Young Award voting, and was 15-10 with a 3.52 ERA in 33 starts last season, when he pitched 227 2-3 innings – his sixth consecutive year of at least 200 innings pitched.
The only other pitchers to log at least 200 innings in six straight seasons are the Jays’ Mark Buehrle, San Francisco’s Matt Cain, Yankees left-hander CC Sabathia and the Tigers ace Justin Verlander.
“If you’re going to win consistently in the major leagues, you’re going to need a rotation that gives you innings, competes, helps you win,” Moore said. “That’s what our goal is, to put together a very good rotation. We feel we’ve done that.”
Shields is due to receive $10.5 million this season. He has a club option for $12 million in 2014 with a $1 million buyout.
The Royals suddenly have a glut of starting pitchers with Shields, Santana and Guthrie joined by Bruce Chen and Luis Mendoza, who are expected back from last year. Luke Hochevar is eligible for arbitration, while Danny Duffy and Felipe Paulino will return at some point during the middle of the season after having Tommy John surgery.
Davis also could be thrown into the mix.
The right-hander started 64 games for Tampa Bay from 2009-11, but he was shuttled to the bullpen last season when the Rays had an abundance of starters. He flourished as a reliever, going 3-0 with a 2.43 ERA, creating some flexibility for him in Kansas City.
Davis is due to make $2.8 million this season and $4.8 million in 2014, with the Royals holding options on the next three years.
The jewel of the deal for Tampa Bay is undoubtedly Myers, who turns 22 on Monday.
The power-hitting outfielder batted .314 with 37 homers and 109 RBIs in 134 games at Northwest Arkansas and Triple-A Omaha, and eventually could help provide some protection in the batting order for Rays star Evan Longoria. Myers showed what he could do during the All-Star Futures Game hosted by Kansas City, when he had a pair of hits and drove in three runs at Kauffman Stadium.
He’ll finally get a chance to prove it at the major league level at Tropicana Field.
Odorizzi was 15-5 with a 3.03 ERA for Northwest Arkansas and Omaha, and made two late-season starts for Kansas City, going 0-1 with a 4.91 ERA in 7 1-3 innings. Montgomery was once considered one of the Royals’ top prospects, but his stock slid last season, when he went 5-13 with a 6.07 ERA last season while getting demoted from Omaha to Northwest Arkansas.
Leonard hit .251 with 14 homers and 46 RBIs in 62 games for short-season Burlington.
“We’re excited to add these guys, anxious to get to know them beyond the information we have on them,” Friedman said. “I think it’s very possible that Wil Myers and Jake Odorizzi will help us win games in 2013, and Mike Montgomery as well.”