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Kansas City Royals Won the James Shields Trade

By Adam Cheshier

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My mind has been set and so should yours; the Kansas City Royals won the James Shields/Wil Myers trade with Tampa Bay back in late 2012.

If you have been following the Royals for more than just the past month, you know the trade. In December of 2012, Dayton Moore made the executive decision to ship away top prospect outfielder Wil Myers and pitchers Jake Odorizzi and Mike Montgomery in exchange for starting pitchers James Shields and Wade Davis.

It was obvious that this trade was a desperate attempt to win in the immediate future. James Shields would be brought over from Tampa with two years left on his contract and then he would be gone. Royals fans know we would win the trade in the next two seasons, but would fans look back in 15 years and still think the same thing? The window to win was small.

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    • The Royals did just that though; They won. They made it to the postseason and with that, brought the most excitement that Kansas City has experienced probably since the last time the Royals went to the playoffs in 1985.

    The Royals came up 90 feet short in Game 7 of the World Series and it sucks. Even worse is that now James Shields is likely to leave Kansas City and sign with a team that will give him mega-bucks.

    Kansas City still won that trade though. Why? Not because the team came up just short of their first World Series title since 1985, but because of what the team became in that run. That type of run has turned a bunch of 25 year olds into seasoned veterans. Those guys experienced everything that a team could experience all in one month of a season.

    Was James Shields the ace that everyone was expecting? Maybe, but maybe he didn’t live up to everyone’s expectations. One thing that is undeniable is that he taught this team leadership. Ask any player on the team and they will tell you that Shields has showed this team how to get to the playoffs, and how to “show-up” when your team needs you in those big games.

    James Shields may be leaving, but the impact that he made on the young Kansas City Royals players will stick with the organization for years to come. In my opinion, that is worth more than what the Royals got Shields for. Because of Shields, the window to win is not just the two years he was in Kansas City, but many years after he leaves.

    The Kansas City Royals won the trade with Tampa Bay, and I will be confident to say that for the next 15 years.

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