The Royals made a bold move Sunday night, trading big pieces of their future for a solid chunk of the present. Kansas City beefed up its pitching staff by acquiring veteran starter James Shields and Major League-proven right-hander Wade Davis from the Tampa Bay Rays, plus a player to be named or cash, in exchange for the Royals' top hitting prospect, outfielder Wil Myers, plus pitching prospects Jake Odorizzi and Mike Montgomery and Minor League third baseman Patrick Leonard. In Shields, the Royals landed the top-of-the-rotation arm they'd been seeking. Shields, who will turn 31 on Dec. 20, was an All-Star in 2011 and a horse for the Rays in 2012, going 15-10 with a 3.52 ERA in 33 starts and striking out 223 batters in 227 2/3 innings. Shields, along with Seattle's Felix Hernandez, Dodgers left-hander Clayton Kershaw and Detroit's Justin Verlander, is one of only four pitchers to notch at least 220 strikeouts in each of the last two seasons. Davis, 27, pitched solely in the bullpen for Tampa Bay in 2012 but made 64 starts for the Rays from 2009 to 2011. Davis, who went 3-0 with a 2.43 ERA last season and struck out 87 batters in 70 1/3 innings, figures to compete for a job on Kansas City's starting staff in 2013. He finished fourth in the American League Rookie of the Year voting for 2010. The Royals had to give up a lot to get a lot, of course. Myers was considered the best hitter in the Minor Leagues this past season and will turn 22 on Monday. He was ranked No. 3 on MLB.com's list of prospects and led the Royals' Top 20. Myers collected a host of Minor League Player of the Year awards -- from Baseball America, USA Today and Topps -- after hitting a combined .314 with 37 home runs and 109 RBIs in 134 games at the Double- and Triple-A levels. Odorizzi, 22, went 15-5 with a 3.03 ERA as primarily a starter at Double-A and Triple-A last year and was called up for two September starts for Kansas City. Montgomery, a 23-year-old lefty, went 5-12 with a 6.07 ERA in 27 starts in Double- and Triple-A last year but was a supplemental first-round pick by the Royals in 2008. Odorizzi was ranked third on the Royals' Top 20 Prospects list and 30th on MLB.com's full list.

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