James Shields excited about Royals 'young talent'

Kansas City's trade for James Shields and Wade Davis was a bit of a shocker, but it was one that made sense for a team that had repeatedly said it was looking for an ace pitcher for its rotation. Shields was brought in to be just that guy, with the Royals offloading quite a few names to get him.

He was a big trade target for quite a few teams, at least if the rumor mill was to be believed. On Monday, Shields said he was actually quite excited at the prospects of his new team, saying, "To be honest, I didn't know which teams were interested in me. You hear the rumors, but I'm excited to be a Royal. There's a lot of young talent."

That young talent was diminished a bit by the trade, with the Royals sending out a big batch of prospects in return for Shields and Davis, including top outfield prospect Wil Myers. There's still plenty in the tank, though, and Shields will be buddied up with the young talent that remains if the Royals want to really get into "win now" mode going into 2013 and beyond.