KC Royals: James Shields Trade Carried High Cost

5 of 5

Apr 6, 2015; Kansas City, MO, USA; Kansas City Royals manager

Ned Yost

(3) receives his American League championship ring from general manager Dayton Moore before the game against the Chicago White Sox at Kauffman Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports

1B/3B PATRICK LEONARD

Patrick Leonard was something of a throw-in on the deal with Tampa Bay. Before the 2013 season, Leonard was 20-years-old and had just completed his first season in rookie ball after the Royals picked him in the 5th round of the 2011 draft.

While Leonard slashed a promising .251/.340/.494 with 14 home runs in the Appalacian League, he was a long way from a finished product.

Leonard struggled a bit in the Tampa system, but enjoyed a solid 2014 at High A Charlotte. Patrick Leonard hit .284/.359/.448 with 13 home runs in 455 at bats in his age-21 season, and earned a promotion to AA Montgomery in the Southern League.

While Leonard has yet to make any MLB top-100 prospect lists, John Sickels of SB Nation rated him a “C+” prospect and included him in the “honorable mentions” of his Rays top-20 prospect list.

Patrick Leonard might yet have a major-league future.

So Kansas City fans, the package the Royals gave up for James Shields and Wade Davis was hardly negligible. The KC Royals would today have three more mid-20’s starters for their major-league club.

The rotation would look considerably improved, with four young guns in Yordano Ventura, Danny Duffy, Jake Odorizzi, and Mike Montgomery. The lineup would have another middle-of-the-order bat with four-and-a-half more years of team control in Wil Myers. Patrick Leonard would add to the Royals minor-league prospect depth.

With all of that young talent, I imagine that today’s KC Royals would still be a good team in 2015. What I doubt is if they would have the same “swagger” that came from two-years of clubhouse leadership by James Shields, and a World Series run.

That self-belief will make the KC Royals dangerous if they make the playoffs.

Do you really believe a Royals team without veteran leader James Shields would have had the confidence to pull off that Wild Card comeback against Oakland’s Jon Lester?

I don’t. And, without that game as a springboard for the 2014 World Series run, I also doubt Kansas City fans would have embraced this team like they do today.

Next: Kansas City Royals 2015 MLB Draft Review

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