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Poll: The Rays-Royals Trade

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The Rays and Royals made a major trade last night, and in the 12 hours or so since the teams announced the deal, many executives, writers and analysts have responded with their reactions. Now it’s your turn to weigh in on the deal.

Should the Royals get credit for strengthening their pitching staff with James Shields and Wade Davis? Or did they overpay for pitching depth and make a deal they’ll ultimately regret? And does the acquisition of Wil Myers, Jake Odorizzi, Mike Montgomery and Patrick Leonard justify the Rays’ decision to deal Shields and Davis? Or did the Rays make a mistake in choosing prospects over established players? It's time to hear what you think of the trade…

Royals To Acquire James Shields, Wade Davis

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James Shields - Rays (PW)

The Royals have bolstered their starting rotation for 2013 thanks to the addition of two quality pitchers. Kansas City has agreed to acquire right-hander James Shields, right-hander Wade Davis and a player to be named or cash from Tampa Bay in exchange for outfielder Wil Myers, right-hander Jake Odorizzi, left-hander Mike Montgomery and third baseman Patrick Leonard, according to a team release.

Kansas City's continued commitment to acquiring veteran pitching talent as seen with Shields and Davis has the Royals with their eyes on competing as soon as 2013. Shields, soon to turn 31, brings a career 87-73 record and 3.89 ERA to the Midwest after finishing third in the AL Cy Young vote for the 2011 season. Beyond his stats, Shields brings leadership to the Royals clubhouse after mentoring young pitchers in Tampa Bay. Davis, 27 and fresh off his first season in the bullpen, enjoyed success with the Rays in 2012. With an ERA of 2.43 and his strikeout total of 87, Davis' combination for a reliever could only be matched by Angels right-hander Ernesto Frieri. As a starter, Davis has posted a 4.22 ERA in 64 starts. 

Jon Morosi of FOXSports.com reports that the organization will have Shields under team control through the 2014 season ('14 as a team option) and Davis potentially remaining blue and white through 2017 (with '16 and '17 as team options) (via Twitter). The duo will join a starting rotation already home to Jeremy Guthrie, Ervin Santana, Bruce Chen and Luke Hochevar.

For the Rays, blessed with more than enough pitching to continue to call their rotation an asset, the addition of Myers provides Tampa Bay with another building block to complement their star player in Evan Longoria. Myers, who turns 22 on Monday, enters the 2013 season as the reigning 2012 Baseball America Minor League Player of the Year after hitting .304/.378/.554 in 99 games this season at Triple-A Omaha.

Beyond Myers, the Rays also acquired three prospects from the Royals who all check in at 23 years old or younger. Odorizzi, arguably the most talented of the bunch, took home his team's Pitcher of the Year award this past season while playing with Myers. The right-hander pitched to a 2.93 ERA with 7.4 K/9 and 3.4 BB/9 over the course of 107.1 innings. He made his Major League debut in September where he had the opportunity to make two starts for the Royals.

Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times first broke the details of the trade (via Twitter). Photo courtesy of US Presswire.

Ryan Dempster Rumors: Friday

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It seems as if the Brewers, Royals and Red Sox are leading the charge to sign Ryan Dempster, with the Cubs apparently out of the running.  Here's the latest on the Canadian right-hander…

Free Agent Rumors: Dempster, Ichiro, Jackson, Tejada

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Approximately half of the free agents on MLBTR’s top 50 list remain unsigned, which means there will be lots of action in the next few weeks. Here are the latest free agent updates from around MLB…

  • The Brewers, Red Sox and Royals are the "three main teams" looking at Ryan Dempster, reports Paul Sullivan of the Chicago Tribune (Twitter link).  This would seem to eliminate the Cubs, who we recently heard weren't negotiating with Dempster.
  • The Yankees are still talking to Ichiro Suzuki as they continue waiting to hear from Kevin Youkilis, Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com reports (on Twitter). Youkilis is weighing multiple offers and the Indians are also bidding for his services.
  • The Royals and other teams seem “very cool” to Edwin Jackson, Bob Dutton of the Kansas City Star reports (on Twitter). In other words they aren't overly eager to spend aggressively on him.
  • Braves GM Frank Wren said he has interest in certain outfielders as one-year stopgaps, ESPN.com’s Jerry Crasnick reports (on Twitter). The Braves need another outfielder, even after signing B.J. Upton.
  • The Diamondbacks are very interested in Miguel Tejada, Enrique Rojas of ESPNDeportes.com reports (on Twitter, in Spanish). The team offered Tejada a minor league deal, but he’d like a guaranteed contract.
  • The Marlins are only interested in Carl Pavano if he’ll accept a low base salary of $3MM or so plus incentives, Phil Mackey of ESPN 1500 reports (on Twitter). Pavano’s agent met with the Twins yesterday,  Mackey adds.

R.A. Dickey Rumors: Friday

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Multiple teams remain involved in talks for R.A. Dickey, but it's still possible the Mets will extend the knuckleballer instead of trading him. The reigning National League Cy Young winner appears to seek two years and $26MM in addition to his $5MM salary for 2013. Here are the latest rumors about contract talks for Dickey and potential trades…

  • GM Sandy Alderson repeated that the Mets might end up holding onto Dickey instead of trading or extending him, according to Ken Davidoff of the New York Post. Though that's not “necessarily the optimal result,” the Mets are prepared for that possibility. One competing NL official said it'd be a mistake not to trade or extend Dickey, however.

Earlier updates:

  • The Royals seem "very interested" in Dickey, Bob Dutton of the Kansas City Star reports (allTwitterlinks). However, they wouldn't be interested in sending top prospect Wil Myers to New York for the knuckleballer. Dickey, James Shields and Jeremy Hellickson remain in play for the Royals, Dutton reports. However, it now seems unlikely that the Red Sox will move Jon Lester.
  • The Mets view the Blue Jays, Royals and Rangers as the most likely trade suitors for Dickey, ESPN.com's Buster Olney reports (on Twitter). In Olney's view Dickey's contract demands may seem more reasonable based on some recent free agent contracts.

Latest On The Royals

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The latest on the Royals, who continue to seek a front-rotation starting pitcher…

  • The Royals are exploring a group of free agent starters that includes Brett Myers, Kevin Correia, and Jair Jurrjens, tweets ESPN's Jerry Crasnick, which could be a backup plan if they fail to acquire a No. 1.  Dutton has heard differently, saying he's been told the Royals have no intention for now of pursuing any pitcher who wouldn't front their rotation.
  • The Royals' payroll pinch is tighter than initially believed, explains Bob Dutton of the Kansas City Star.  In fact, the team appears to already be over budget.  Regarding the Shields talks, a Royals official told Dutton, "It’s not like we’re going to bend over backward,” one club official said. “We’re not going to do that. We want to make a trade to get another starter, be it Shields or someone else, but we don’t feel we have to make a trade."  The Rays are likely to wait to move Shields until Zack Greinke signs, writes Dutton.

Earlier updates:

NL Central Notes: Brewers, Cubs, Cardinals

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Today in NL Central news, the Cardinals reached a three-year agreement with lefty reliever Randy Choate, the Pirates traded for wild power lefty Andy Oliver, and the Cubs signed right fielder Nate Schierholtz to a one-year deal.  The latest from the division:

Cubs, Brewers, Royals, Red Sox In On Dempster

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8:48pm: Levine's report "grossly misrepresents" the nature of the Cubs-Dempster talks, tweets Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times.  He says negotiations are not happening and a reunion is implausible.

7:56pm: Dempster's agent has talked to the Cubs about a possible return to Chicago, reports Bruce Levine of ESPNChicago.com.  Though the Cubs have not made an offer, money and length of contract was discussed.  Dempster has two and three-year offers on the table, writes Levine, with the Royals and Brewers showing the most interest.  Levine sees a no-trade as a potential obstacle to Dempster returning to the Cubs.

2:13pm: The Royals made Dempster a two-year, $26MM offer, which he declined, according to Bob Dutton of the Kansas City Star. Kansas City balked at Dempster's request for three years and it seems neither side has changed its stance, says Dutton (Twitter links).

1:59pm: The Royals and Red Sox are still interested in Dempster, according to Rosenthal, who says the Brewers remain in the mix as well. The Angels' current level of interest is unclear, says Rosenthal (Twitter link).

12:21pm: Dempster believes he will earn a three-year deal if other free agent pitchers like Anibal Sanchez, Kyle Lohse, and Edwin Jackson land four- or five-year deals, tweets Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports.

10:37am: With the Brewers still unwilling to commit a third year to an offer for Ryan Dempster, the two sides have reached an impasse in their negotiations, according to Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. If another team steps up and offers Dempster a three-year deal, the Brewers will likely be out of the running, says Haudricourt.

We heard on Monday that Dempster is seeking a three-year contract, something Milwaukee preferred to avoid, having been burned on long-term deals for veteran starters before. Perhaps the two sides can reach a compromise on some sort of two-year deal with a third-year option, but for now it seems nothing is close.

GM Doug Melvin visited with Dempster's agent, Craig Landis, yesterday.

AL Central Rumors: Sox, Royals, Indians, Tigers

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The White Sox added a third baseman today, signing Jeff Keppinger to a three-year deal worth about $12MM. Having taken care of the hot corner, the Sox have now moved on and are eyeing the trade market in hopes of making a splash, tweets Danny Knobler of CBSSports.com. Here are a few other updates from out of the AL Central:

  • Bob Dutton of the Kansas City Star hears from multiple Royals sources that things are quiet on the trade front for the team, though that could change (Twitter link).
  • The Indians are looking at Kevin Youkilis and Mark Reynolds as potential first base options, according to Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer (Twitter link).
  • The Tigers are in a holding pattern at the moment as they wait to see if Anibal Sanchez's asking price drops, tweets Danny Knobler of CBSSports.com. Detroit isn't optimistic that will happen.

Afternoon Rumors: Hairston, Royals, Yanks, M’s

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Jeff Keppinger, Eric Chavez, Jason Bay, Nate McLouth, and Wil Nieves have all reached contract agreements this afternon in Nashville. Which moves might be coming next? Let's round up a few of the latest rumors from the Winter Meetings….

  • The Mets are reluctant to commit to a two-year deal for Scott Hairston, tweets Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. Rosenthal adds that the Mets could net a catcher in a trade involving R.A. Dickey or other players. Given the context, I assume he means an outfielder, though the Mets are seeking a backstop as well.
  • Like the Brewers, the Royals may not be able to afford an arm like Anibal Sanchez or Kyle Lohse unless the team clears some salary, tweets Danny Knobler of CBSSports.com. Kansas City has remained in touch with both pitchers though.
  • The Yankees have been exchanging trade proposals with other teams for a variety of players, including Curtis Granderson, tweets ESPN.com's Buster Olney, who cautions that that's "standard procedure."
  • Seattle's payroll is expected to rise above $90MM, so the Mariners could afford to add one big-money player, tweets Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com. Josh Hamilton would be a tight fit though, Heyman adds.
  • Although the Angels are interested in Brandon McCarthy, they've yet to speak to his people in Nashville, says ESPN.com's Jerry Crasnick (via Twitter).
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