"Royals dangling Myers for Shields or Lester"

Proven lefty starters are tough to come by. 2012 was Lester's first/only bad year of his career. Even Verlander had a "dog" year in 2008 and he's bounced back quite nicely. Sox need more pitching, not less and he is entering the prime of his career the next 2-3 years.

He is not a good fit in Boston anymore. Psychology plays a role in performance. There's an entire field dedicated to sports psychology. I have no doubt he can be successful elsewhere. In fact, this will lead people to claim Boston never should have traded him, but, in my opinion, some guys just run their course with a team and I personally think Lester's time with Boston is done.

I will be very surprised if the Sox don't make a big splash this offseason. And I'm not talking about adding 1 key free agent...

I'll be extremely pissed if the Royals trade away Myers for Lester.

charsupv said:

I'll be extremely pissed if the Royals trade away Myers for Lester.

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I'm not a fan of trading Myers at all if I'm a Royals fan. I think this kid is going to be a perennial superstar in the Majors. Both Lester and Shields have had some good seasons, but neither are elite pitchers. I'd rather keep Myers if that's all that would come in return.

All The Hype said:

I'm not a fan of trading Myers at all if I'm a Royals fan. I think this kid is going to be a perennial superstar in the Majors. Both Lester and Shields have had some good seasons, but neither are elite pitchers. I'd rather keep Myers if that's all that would come in return.

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Exactly. I'd love to have a potential ace, if Lester bounces back. Just not at the coat of Myers. I think he's more important, long term. Control him for 6 years or have Lester until he runs for a payday in FA.

SeattleSports said:

To be fair, going 10-10 with a 4.5 ERA and 1.3 WHIP would be a HUGE bounce back year for Lester.
I've never seen a fan base so desperate to hang onto a player coming off a 4.82 ERA 9-14 and 1.38 WHIP and a WAR of .4.

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Wow, I love people who have no idea what they are talking about. Everyone knows that Lester's mechanics were off last season. Farrell even said so when he watched him pitch against the Jays. Considering his consistency in his career I would go out on a limb and say that season is an outlier. Even with his off season last year he still managed 200+ IP with 3 CG. I like how you give his 12' WAR but not any other season? I'll fill you in: 5.8, 5.9, 4.9, 4.1. All that with postseason success/experience to boot. I believe if Farrell works with him on his mechanics and he uses his cutter a bit less then he will easily go back to his old self. If he had 2-3 seasons similar to last year then I might start to worry, but based on what I've said and that he started to get his act together over the last couple months, I am not worried at all.
Getting an ace nowadays is not cheap. Just look at Lohse, going to get $15mil/season easily, Sanchez $14mil/season, and Grienke the biggest contract for a pitcher ever. Teams are starting to lock up their aces so it's getting tougher/more expensive to sign one. Sometimes teams have to give up top talent to get frontline starters....because it's a proven fact that if you don't have a stellar starting rotation then good luck getting far in the playoffs.

I have seen this a lot people saying that the Royals are not just 1 SP away from being a winning ballclub. I agree with those statements. But without help in their starting rotation they will continue to get nowhere and I believe Royal fans are getting sick of losing season after losing season.

MojoDan said:

I would hate to see Lester leave, but it wouldn't be as bad if they got a player like Myers in return. I don't think dealing one of their best pitchers is the answer. If anything, they could use a few more.

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Yeah if we were to trade Lester for any prospect then I suppose Myers would be a good choice. With that said I don't think they should be trading their ace considering they need pitching as it is. Makes no sense. I would love for them to not sign Grienke, Hamilton, Swisher, or Napoli and instead throw some money at Sanchez or McCarthy if they do spend some money on another free agent. Sox fans know that we are not going to be competitive next year but we are eagerly awaiting the next few seasons when our top prospects are on the ML squad. The Red Sox might surprise people next season considering how everyone has them penciled in for last place. For them to have a decent season they need to address a few holes. (Outfield, starting pitcher...I would go with Iglesias at SS, and Gomez at 1B. Inexpensive and Gomez has shown he can hit, and Iglesias can go 1 for 5 every game if he plays some GG defense all year. Maybe sign LaRoche if Ben C doesn't think Gomez is an everyday player)

GO SOX!

MaineMule said:

....great minds think alike .......hope you are well Scott!!

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You got that right! I hope you are doing well, also! I have not been posting on the boards that often but I'll be fully back when the 13' seasons starts...until then I'll pop in every now and then.

If they don't throw money at Hamilton and Napoli, I'd be thrilled to see Bourn land there...

MojoDan said:

If they don't throw money at Hamilton and Napoli, I'd be thrilled to see Bourn land there...

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I was hoping they would have signed Torii Hunter, but Bourn would be a great signing as well. He might be the exact type of player the Red Sox need. Have to ask though, if we did potentially sign him....does Ellsbury or Bourn get the nod in center? I would think Ellsbury assuming we don't trade him.


Keep in mind guys that if Lester doesn't get traded this offseason, I strongly believe he will get an extension in 13'. (Assuming his ERA isn't near 5 come AS break) This means he will become unobtainable for the Royals, and when Shields contract is up do you think he will want to sign with a team for what he will be making (potentially) in 14'? Doubtful. He might even turn down the option because he wants even more money. So where does that leave the Royals who want a #1-2 starter? Either reach deep into their pockets or trade some top prospects. Or pray that a high risk/high reward signing pays off. Who knows.