By now most of you have heard about the trade between the Tampa Bay Rays and the Kansas City Royals wherein the Royals get James Shields and Wade Davis for Wil Myers, Jake Odorizzi, Mike Montgomery and Patrick Leonard.
For most of the reactions I've seen, you either love the trade or hate the trade for the Royals. They've clearly indicated they are in 'win-now mode' and are hoping they have the pieces to pull it off this year and after.
I'm not seeing it.
Don't get me wrong, getting Shields and having Davis start (thereby bumping Luke Hochevar) is a good thing. I just think the move came a tad premature, and was a drastic overpay. I think they're more than a couple SPs away from contending, especially with gaping wholes at second base and right field (where Myers should have gone). They're counting on their young guys like Hosmer, Moose and Perez to get better, and I think they will. But it might not be right now.
Ervin Santana is a 1-year stopgap. Shields has two years remaining on his deal. If one or both leave after the next two years, they really don't have anyone in the minors to replace them (Odorizzi should be good to come up this year or next; no other pitching prospect as close).
They should have given last year's team, with Myers and Odorizzi, a chance to gel together, play together to see if there were any steps back or leaps forward. Now, last year's team HAS to bounce back hard or they're just treading water.
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