Poll Results: Who will the Myers-Shields trade end up helping the most?

In Royal Revival's most recent poll, we asked the readers "Who will the Myers-Shields trade end up helping the most? It was a simple question, with just two choices and after a couple of weeks worth of voting the results finished dead even at 23 votes a piece for the Royals and Rays.

Obviously, the vast majority of our readers are Royals fans, so typically I would expect a slight lean toward the Royals in the results of the trade. However, after the open criticism of the trade from some in the Royals community it doesn't surprise me that the results finished in this manner. In fact, I am a little surprised that more of our readers didn't favor the Tampa Bay Rays in this poll question.

While in most trades, the final results of the trade aren't determined for seasons in advance, this trade will likely receive a grade in two years. In my mind, if James Shields and Wade Davis elevate the Royals to legitimate contention, I think this trade was a win for the Royals. Winning is the goal of sports, and even if Myers develops into a superstar, this trade is a win for me if the Royals reach the playoffs within the next couple of seasons.

The difficult and ironic part of this trade, is the way in which the fan base, which has bee told repeatedly to trust the process, feels as though the front office stopped trusting the process. Dayton Moore contends that it was the perfect time to strike and that the idea that he made the move to try and save his job is ludicrous. I hope this is the truth.

There is no doubt that this trade could severely hurt the Royals. If you think the selection of the Luke Hochevar pick has been second guessed, just imagine what will happen if Wil Myers turns into Ryan Braun. However, while I may have my doubts about the trade, I am excited for 2013. For the first time in my life, the "what if" list isn't a long one in order for the Royals to play meaningful games in September. When is the last time that we have been witness to those?

Poll Results: What is your top offseason priority?

In the latest Royal Revival poll I asked you, what is your top remaining priority for the Royals offseason. Here were the results, after 118 votes were cast:

* Extend Alex Gordon: 47 votes (39%). Extending Alex seems to be on the agenda or this offseason. Both parties have been clear that they would like an extension to get done, and Bob Dutton predicts a 4 year, $30 million deal to be signed in mid-January. Let's see if we can get a team option tacked on to.

* Trade Joakim Soria: 17 votes (14%). The acquistion of Jonathan Broxton gave this idea some legs, but since we haven't heard much. Personally, I'd love to package him to Tampa Bay, Los Angeles, Boston, or Cincinnati for a starter if it meant we could hang on to Myers.

* Improve Bench: 3 votes (2%). Improving of the team bench is probably the most likely activity we will see from the Royals from this point forward. It's pretty clear that Dayton Moore is going to grab a veteran infielder at some point.

* Bullpen: 2 votes (1%). Surprisingly the only move that will greatly affect the Major League roster since this poll was opened was the acquisition of Jonathan Broxton.

* Acquire another starter: 49 votes (41%). Not a shock that readers are still wishing for another starter. I still believe that Dayton Moore isn't done, but whether or not the future addition is a front end guy or not hinges on if the Royals can acquire one without the cost of Wil Myers.