2012-2013 MLB Off-Season Thread

[tjfla]

Even with the injury concerns, I find it amazing that the Rangers would be willing to trade Mike Olt for 38 year old R.A. Dickey but wouldn't for 28 year old Josh Johnson.

They prolly would have however we kept asking for a blockbuster package instead of just take Olt straight up

Also TB got a pretty nice deal especially since they need offense BAD

Odriozzi will replace Shields in the rotation
Myers will replace Upton in CF(Plus they get a Supp pick)
Montgomery could be a nice back of the rotation arm
Leonard had 14HR in Rookie Ball

Alot better package then what they were suppose to get in the 3/4 way deal

[dim]

So they replace Upton with Myers, who probably will be a better major league player. Not to mention Odorizzi was ranked the 30th best prospect in baseball.

James Shields is good and all, but is he worth the 3rd and 30th best prospects in baseball along with two other prospects? No. It's amazing how good the Rays front office has been the last few years, and how the Royals built such a good farm system only to have part of it traded away for immediate success that isn't coming.

[Miamarlin21]

James Shields is ranked an "ace". I think that term is sometimes thrown around too easily. Yes, Shields is pretty good, but is he worth giving up what the Royals gave up (reiterating what Dim said.)

"Aces" I would trade Myers for:

Strasburg
Gio (not even an ace, but better than shields)
Halladay (old, but oh well)
Hamels
Cueto
Wainwright
Gallardo
Cain
Kershaw
Greinke
Sabathia
Price
Johnson
Verlander
Felix

[HUGG]

No surprise, the Twitter world hates what the Royals just did.

So do the Tigers.

Different reasons, obviously. Twitter loves prospects and loves the Rays. Twitter thinks Wil Myers will be a star.

The Tigers look at James Shields and think that the Royals just became a real threat in the American League Central.

Twitter thinks the Royals "gave up a lot." The Tigers know that two teams that "gave up a lot" just met in the World Series.

As one Tigers person after another whispered during last week's winter meetings, "I just hope they don't get Shields."

They just did, and that's why when I texted one Tigers official with news of Sunday night's big trade, his response consisted of one word that I can't repeat here.

Rest assured, it wasn't "Great!"

Shields is a difference-maker. He pitches tons of innings (second in the majors to Justin Verlander over the last two years). He wins games, even when he's matched up against great pitchers.

He leads a staff. There's no way the Rays would even think about trading him, except that they don't have enough money to pay both him and David Price and still put together a lineup that can win.

The Rays did what they had to. Good for them.

But the Royals did what they had to, too.

You may get praise for holding tight to all your prospects, but you generally don't win championships that way.

With the help of those prospects, the Royals had put together a lineup that may well be ready to win. Myers may have helped make that lineup even stronger, but the only way this team was going to become a true contender (for the first time in nearly three decades) was to significantly upgrade a rotation that had a 5.01 ERA in 2012.

Adding Jeremy Guthrie and Ervin Santana helped, but the Royals still needed someone to put on top.

Pitchers like that aren't cheap, as the Dodgers proved by giving Zack Greinke nearly $25 million a year.

Do you know who baseball-reference.com lists as statistically the most similar pitcher to Greinke? Yes, it's James Shields.

Shields makes $10.5 million in 2013, which means the Royals could afford him. But the only way they were going to get him was to trade Myers.

In 2012, the Royals opened the season with Bruce Chen and Luke Hochevar as their No. 1 and No. 2 starters. In 2013, Chen and Hochevar figure to compete with Wade Davis for the final two spots in the rotation.

The Royals plan to try Davis (acquired from the Rays along with Shields) as a starting pitcher. It may be that he fits better as a reliever, which is what the Rays eventually decided.

The Royals will be fine either way, if Shields does for them what he has done for the Rays.

The Royals paid a stiff price to get him. Myers is considered one of the best prospects in the game. Jake Odorizzi is a top pitching prospect. The other two players in the deal (Mike Montgomery and Patrick Leonard) have talent, but aren't considered to be on the level of Myers and Odorizzi.

Yes, it's a lot. But as Tigers general manager Dave Dombrowski likes to say, "I never understood the idea that you're going to get talent without giving up talent."

The Royals could have held their prospects and waited. But most likely, they would have continued to lose for another couple of years, and general manager Dayton Moore would have lost his job.

Instead, they made the decision that their vastly improved young lineup could give them a chance to compete now. That's why when they began trade talks to acquire a big-time pitcher, they told teams that they would much rather deal Myers than they would Billy Butler.

Myers has a higher ceiling. It's reasonable to think he'll end up being the better player (although it's also worth remembering that many prospects never prove to be as good as advertised).

But the Royals are trying to win now. Keeping Butler gave them a better chance at it.

Getting Shields gave them a much better chance at it.

The Twitter world may not get that. The Tigers did.

They know that the AL Central just got a lot more interesting.

http://www.cbssports.com/mlb/blog/da...ouldnt-make-it

[Miamarlin21]

Sorry, on a side note, I lol'd at this:

[emkayseven]

I actually think the Royals did well. The Central is a shitty division for the taking and Shields is one of the most underrated aces in the game. And, you know, TNSTAAPP

[Mainge]

Will Myers + for a 31 year old Shields who could walk after 2 years. If they were close, I could see it.

But nah.

[emkayseven]

I think they are close. I don't think this puts them over the hump, but that division is garbage. Myers looks great but he's still just a "prospect" and their offense is going to be very good.

I still think the Rays "won" the trade, but the Royals did pretty well, since they seemed determined to trade Myers for a pitcher.

[Mainge]

I don't agree that they're close. I don't know if their offense is going to be good, either. They were really bad last season
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Agree to disagree though

[HUGG]

Their offense could be really good.

They were 12th in the AL in runs last season and yet 3rd in hits and doubles. 13th in home runs, 14th in walks, 14th in strikeouts.

Only Butler (140), Gordon (125) and Perez (117) has OPS+ over 100. 4 of their 9 starters were 85 or lower.

Really hinges on Hosmer not being terrible like he was in 2012 and Moustakas taking a jump forward.
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They supposedly are still gonna try to sign Ryan Dempster.
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Rosenthal:

People will crush the Royals. People always crush the Royals, and they mostly deserve it after nine straight losing seasons, the last 6-1/2 under general manager Dayton Moore.

But not this time.

Not after obtaining 40 percent of their 2013 starting rotation Sunday night without trading a single major leaguer in their stunning blockbuster with the Rays.

Yes, the Royals parted with four prospects to get right-handers James Shields and Wade Davis, and woe to any GM who parts with such gold in this hyper-critical, Twitter-crazed era.

Well, last time I checked, outfielder Wil Myers was not yet Willie Mays. Right-hander Jake Odorizzi might prove nothing more than a No. 3 starter. Lefty Mike Montgomery regressed after Baseball America named him the Royals’ top prospect in 2012, and third baseman Patrick Leonard spent last season in Rookie Ball.

“I love prospects, but uncle,” one GM said Sunday night. “Myers is no slam dunk. He better hit a ton. And maybe he will. But this is far from a lopsided deal.”

Oh, it could become one if Myers becomes a superstar and the Royals fail to make the playoffs in either of Shields’ two seasons. But this is a chance that the Royals had to take, not just for Moore to save his job, but also for the franchise to restore its good name.

I’m sick of low-revenue teams that are scared to make a move, fixated on their place in the Baseball America organization rankings, content in their mediocrity.

The Royals, for too many years, were one of those teams. But now, they should at least compete in the AL Central, even with the mighty Tigers.

Shields is a legitimate ace. Davis was more successful as a reliever last season than he ever was as a starter, but Rays GM Andrew Friedman says starting is “his true calling.”

What, you expected the Royals to enter the season with Ervin Santana and Jeremy Guthrie at the top of their rotation? How else were they supposed to upgrade their rotation? By waiting for Odorizzi, Montgomery, et al?

The Royals boast one of the game’s deepest farm systems. It was time for them to stop fretting over their prospects and leverage them into actual major leaguers. If the team’s young hitters, most notably first baseman Eric Hosmer, fail to develop, then Moore is doomed, anyway.

True, Moore created many of his problems, failing to develop starters, refusing to trade closer Joakim Soria at peak value and most recently, tendering righty Luke Hochevar, who now becomes a spare part with a projected arbitration salary in the $4.5 million range.

OK, fine. Moore’s record is spotty. But injuries to catcher Salvador Perez, center fielder Lorenzo Cain and several pitchers hurt the Royals last season. With better health, an improved offense and a stronger pitching staff, the team will have legitimate reason to be excited.

The Rays, on the other hand, are in a less celebratory mood; “Lies!!!” left-hander David Price tweeted after news of the trade broke. Both Shields and Davis were homegrown. Both were signed to long-term extensions. But the Rays’ market yields so little revenue, the team has little choice but to constantly turn over its roster.

http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/story/k...l-myers-120912

[CrimsonCane]

James Shields is good and all, but is he worth the 3rd and 30th best prospects in baseball along with two other prospects?

Isn't that about what our stellar front office received for a once-in-a-generation hitter?

[Namaste]

ruh roh

[Swifty]

I don't get the love for James Shields. He's durable and has a very team friendly contract, but after that I fail to "get it."

He had an exceptional 2011, but compared with the rest of his career, isn't that kind of an aberration and not the norm...?

[dim]

Isn't that about what our stellar front office received for a once-in-a-generation hitter?

Yeah, but Miguel Cabrera isn't James Shields. I actually feel Cabrera was worth two "top ten prospects" at the time. Shields has two years left on his contract, is 31, and probably a bottom of the line "ace" if you want to call him that.

But Moore had to make this move to save his job. I don't think it's a smart long term move, but Moore needed to ensure the short term wasn't awful.

[Beef]

2007

Cameron Maybin 6
Andrew Miller 10