Rays trade James Shields, Wade Davis to Royals for Wil Myers

The Royals entered the offseason in a mad scramble for pitching. This is usually what happens when Bruce Chen makes an Opening Day start and two of your best young pitchers fall to elbow injury. It’s like something you could test at a science fair -- build a mock volcano out of Bruce Chen, pour in Tommy John surgeries, and watch the mad scramble for pitching froth over the top.

But other teams go on similarly mad scrambles for pitching, and they usually come out the other end with less money or fewer prospects. It’s a rare feat to have both happen. And it’s even rarer to lose money and prospects and have a rotation that makes you say, “Huh.” Presenting the 2013 Royals:

Meanwhile, Shields is the Royals’ only projected starting pitcher with an ERA better than league-average last season. Which isn’t to say there’s no up-side for those guys; every pitcher has some up-side. It’s just easier to get excited about the up-side with a young pitcher than an old one. And for all the Royals’ kids, they’re going to have a relatively grizzled rotation. Which is wholly unlike the Rays in 2008.

Myers, the Minor League Player of the Year, headlines the prospect package heading to Florida. The 22-year-old outfielder had a breakout campaign in 2012, pounding Double-A pitching to the tune of .343/.414/.731 with 13 home runs in 152 plate appearances before a promotion to Triple-A, where he proceeded to hit .304/.378/.554 with 24 homers.

Montgomery also spent 2012 between Double- and Triple-A, though he did not find the same success as Myers and Odorizzi. The southpaw started 27 games between the two levels and was pounded for 179 hits in just 149⅔ innings.