KANSAS CITY, Mo. — In December 2012, the Kansas City Royals made one of the most drastic moves in franchise history.



They had controlled Wil Myers, who had already shown he was a star prospect. They had controlled Jake Odorizzi, who had emerged as a right-handed starter with great potential. Mike Montgomery, whom the Royals selected in the 2008 MLB Draft, had been dominating for the Royals’ system in the minor leagues. Kansas City, seizing the immediate future, traded each of those prospects (and third baseman Patrick Leonard) for James Shields and Wade Davis.



The night of the trade, the Associated Press wrote a story, and here was the lede: “The Kansas City Royals gambled their future Sunday night for a chance to win right now.” Days after the trade, bloggers bashed the Royals’ decision. FanGraphs wrote a story titled: “Royals mortgage future to be mediocre in 2013.”



Oh, what time can tell.



The Royals, as we...