Royals just got bent over by the Rays

[Pelicans78]

The price was too steep especially with Shields having only two years left on his contract. Also, they're really not that close to contending and they're still stuck with that piece of crap at RF.

[JamStone]

So, this is why Rays bent over the Royals, despite both teams getting an ideal fill for greatest need:

Reading an older SI article where a reporter talks to various baseball execs and scouts and pieces together possible deals. One such deal has the Royals receiving Price from the Rays for three prospects that don't include Myers or Odorizzi. So, the Rays traded a lesser pitcher and got back two significantly better prospects than a discussed and even proposed trade twixt same teams.

Shields is a great get, but damn that was a steep price.

I didn't read the article but I'd guess that's just execs and scouts throwing out ideas and not necessarily suggesting what was being talked about.

At any rate, the Royals had a lot of highly regarded prospects. In fact, I believe Bubba Starling was rated higher than Wil Myers going into 2012 by some scouts. And the SI article I did see suggested that along with a couple prospects, the Royals would have likely also included either Eric Hosmer or Mike Moustakas or both. Hosmer struggled his second season and Moustakas may not be as good as projected, but they both proved they belong in the majors and both are still very young. A Price trade may have netted the Rays an even better package even without Myers or Ordorizzi. But again, I'm not sure what SI article you're talking about.

As for Shields v. Price, Price is better. He's also younger. He's also got the 98 MPH fastball. But Shields is no booby prize. And it's arguable that Shields had been the better pitcher the last two years despite Price's CY season this past year. At the least, he's been pretty comparable.

Combined last two seasons (2011 and 2012):

Price:
65 GS, 435.1 IP (6.7 innings per start), 32-18 record
3.04 ERA, 1.12 WHIP, 423/122 K/BB (3.47 K:BB)

Shields:
66 GS, 477 IP (7.2 innings per start), 31-22 record
3.15 ERA, 1.10 WHIP, 448/123 K/BB (3.64 K:BB)

I think the perception that Price is a much better pitcher stems from his 98 MPH fastball. Shields may only throw 91-93 with his fastball, but he still gets swings and misses. He's more of a workhorse. And I remember him having a lot of tough losses in 2011 because the Rays weren't scoring.