Winning now over winning later. Whether or not that’s the mentality of Kansas City Royals General Manager Dayton Moore or not, it clearly had a lot to do with the trade that sent top prospect Wil Myers, Patrick Leonard, Mike Montgomery and Jake Odorizzi to the Rays for pitchers James Shields and Wade Davis back in 2012.
Myers hasn’t had a great start to his major league career. With the Rays for parts of 2013 and 2014, he’s managed to hit just .258/.324/.400/.724 with 19 home runs and 88 RBI’s in 660 at-bats. Obviously no one is ready to judge Myers yet. He’ll be 24 years old on Opening Day 2015 and has a long road ahead. But as Andy Martino of the Daily News points out, even if he turns into a Barry Bonds/Rickey Henderson/Babe Ruth hybrid, the Royals still made the right move.
Shields has become the ace of a staff that now finds itself in the World Series. Wouldn’t you know it, Shields will be taking the ball in game one against the San Francisco Giants tomorrow night.
This offseason, you can look at the Mets situation as being very similar to that of the Royals a few years ago. They are very close to be a winning team and Sandy Alderson will be in position to make trades before the 2015 season as they look to reach 80+ wins. Sure Myers was and still remains a fantastic prospect, but sometimes you have to pull the trigger in order to win in the moment, even if the deal isn’t perfect.
What the Royals showed us is that sometimes it takes a win now over a win later mentality.
Royals pitching coach Dave Eiland reflected on Dayton’s move.
“It was a gutsy move by Dayton and his staff. He took a lot of heat for it, but here we are two years later and we’re going to the World Series. A lot of times people in this game pass judgement too soon. A gutsy move by him. If he doesn’t make that move, we’re probably not here talking right now.”
The Mets are now in a position to trade for talent with their stockpile of prospects. Shields was never the best, but he’s exactly what the Royals needed to push them over the top. Somehow Moore knew exactly what was missing. Now we hold our breath and hope that Alderson knows what’s missing from the Mets as well.
Thoughts from Joe D.
Not so sure that I agree here. By now you all know my feelings on the annual “Mets should follow this model or that model.” I detest that kind of thinking because it’s shallow and because every team deals with differing geographical, internal, and financial considerations that make all 30 teams unique. Andy Martino should be smart enough to know this.
But in this particular instance with Kansas City, I see nothing here, but a Cinderella story that turns into a pumpkin in 2015 when they won’t be able to keep all these players together because of limited payroll flexibility.
Dayton Moore saw a limited window of opportunity to go for it and he rolled the dice. Good for him, I hope it pays off.
But the Mets are trying to build something entirely different in Flushing. Something bigger, better, brighter, based mostly on player development, and most importantly something lasting too.
As for Alderson, if he gets an offer that lands us a true difference maker and it requires a young arm, I have no problem with it.
But it’s on a case by case individual basis. No blank checks and it depends on who we get and who we give up. I certainly would never give up four players including two of my top three prospects for two years of a pitcher like James Shields. Or in contemporary context, Yoenis Cespedes or Jose Bautista.
As for Martino saying the Royals won the trade no matter what happens in the future? The guy’s insane in the membrane.
