The Tampa Bay Rays have agreed to trade All-Star starter James Shields and reliever Wade Davis to the Kansas City Royals for top prospect Wil Myers and other prospects, according to multiple reports.

The Tampa Bay Times’ Marc Topkin was the first to report the trade. Topkin reported that the Rays will receive three additional prospects along with the outfielder Myers — right-hander Jake Odorizzi, left-hander Mike Montgomery and third baseman Patrick Leonard.

Huge #Rays trade is Shields AND Davis (and PTBNL) to #Royals for OF Myers, RHP Odorizzi, LHP Montgomery, 3B Leonard

— Marc Topkin (@TBTimes_Rays) December 10, 2012

The 30-year-old Shields went 15-10 with a 3.52 ERA, 1.17 WHIP and 223 strikeouts last season. His numbers came down a bit from an All-Star 2011 season in which he finished third in Cy Young voting. Shields leaves the Rays as the franchise’s all-time leader in wins, starts, innings pitched and strikeouts.

Davis, 27, excelled last season after a conversion from starter to reliever. In 70 1/3 innings pitched, he had a 2.43 ERA and 83 strikeouts.

Myers was rated Kansas City’s No. 1 prospect by Baseball America. Myers, who will be 22 at the start of the 2013 season, hit .314 and slugged .600 with 37 homers between the Royals’ Double- and Triple-A affiliates last season.

Royals prospect Wil Myers is considered the best hitter in the minor leagues. (Christian Petersen/Getty Images)

The Kansas City Royals have “discussed” dealing top outfield prospect Wil Myers for a front-of-the-rotation starter such as Jon Lester or James Shields, The Kansas City Star’s Bob Dutton reported.

The question for the Royals is whether they would want to give up their No. 1 prospect, according to Baseball America’s list, for one of the pitchers — both of whom are set to hit the free-agent market in two years.

From Dutton’s report:

Both deals have been discussed, but neither appears close at the moment. Other players could be involved, but the basic framework would be Myers for one of the two pitchers. At this point, all sides — the Royals, Rays and Red Sox — remain hesitant.

Still … is either worth considering from the Royals’ perspective? In effect, are two years of Shields or Lester worth six years of Myers?

“You can project Myers to hit 30 homers in two or three years,” one Royals official said. “You’d have a middle-of-the-order bat that’s controllable and affordable. What’s more important?”

Myers, who will be 22 at the start of the 2013 season, hit .314 and slugged .600 with 37 homers between the Royals’ Double- and Triple-A affiliates last season.

Lester and Shields will be 29 and 31, respectively, next season. Lester is coming off a year that saw him slump, as he went just 9-14 with a 4.82 ERA. Shields went 15-10 with a 3.52 ERA with the Rays. Both pitchers have one year remaining on their deals with club options for a second year.

Yahoo Sports reported Saturday that the Royals would be willing to deal Myers for a top-line starter. The Royals believe that after an already busy offseason that includes a trade for Ervin Santana and re-signing Jeremy Guthrie, they could be on the brink of contention.

The Rays’ James Shields is drawing trade interest from the Twins. (Jason Miller/Getty Images)

The Minnesota Twins have reached out to the Tampa Bay Rays to express interest in acquiring pitcher James Shields in a trade, The Boston Globe’s Nick Cafardo reported Sunday.

In his report, Cafardo also identifies the Los Angeles Dodgers as a team that could be in play for Shields. From Cafardo’s report:

We suspect the Rays will field a lot of calls on him in the coming weeks. Whether they pull the trigger in order to obtain offense remains to be seen. With former Rays special adviser Gerry Hunsicker now in LA, the Dodgers may make a push to get Shields, but what could they give back? Ethier? It makes sense if they have their eye on Hamilton. But the Rays may not be able to carry Ethier’s contract. They have already received inquiries on Shields from the Twins.

Shields, who will be 31 in December, remains a relative bargain for the next two seasons if he can stay as productive as he’s been for the last two seasons. He is due just $9 million next season, and his contract calls for a club option for $12 million in 2014.

Shields went 15-10 with the Rays last season with a 3.52 ERA, and he had 223 strikeouts to just 58 walks in 227 2/3 innings.

The Cardinals are interested in trading for starters Francisco Liriano and James Shields ahead of the trade deadline next week. (Hannah Foslien/Getty Images)

Aiming to boost their pitching staff, the St. Louis Cardinals are discussing trades with the Tampa Bay Rays and Minnesota Twins for starters James Shields and Francisco Liriano, CBS Sports’ Scott Miller reported Saturday. Miller reported that the Cardinals also had tried to sign starter Ben Sheets before he inked a deal with the Atlanta Braves in June.

The Cardinals sit two games behind the Braves for the second National League wild card spot. They are six games behind the Cincinnati Reds in the NL Central and four games behind the second-place Pittsburgh Pirates.

Of the two starters, Liriano might be the easier deal to pull off. One source told CBS’ Miller that the Twins are “likely” to trade Liriano, who is 3-10 with a 5.31 ERA in 22 games — 17 starts — this season.

Shields, on the other hand, has the Rays thinking they can get a lucrative package of minor leaguers in return. The Rays are reportedly seeking more than what the Angels traded to the Brewers for Zack Greinke on Friday. The 30-year-old Shields is 8-7 with a 4.52 ERA this season.

The Cardinals also might face less competition for Liriano. The Texas Rangers, Braves, Los Angeles Dodgers and Cleveland Indians have all been in talks with Tampa Bay about Shields. CBS’ Miller only pegs the Baltimore Orioles as Liriano’s other serious suitor.

The Rays’ James Shields is drawing trade interest from at least four teams. (Jason Miller/Getty Images)

At least four teams are interested in trading for Tampa Bay Rays starter James Shields, but the Rays are looking for a package of even greater value than what the Milwaukee Brewers got for starter Zack Greinke.

CBS Sports’ Jon Heyman reported that the Texas Rangers, Atlanta Braves, Los Angeles Dodgers and Cleveland Indians have all been in talks with Tampa Bay about Shields. From Heyman’s report:

The Rays say they seek “north of Greinke,” according to someone with ties to the Rays organization, a new phrase borne out of the Angels’ three prospect deal for Zack Greinke. While few would argue Shields is as good as Greinke, the Rays’ contention is that he is more valuable due to two teams options tying him to the team that remain, a $9-million option for 2013 and a $12-million option for 2013.

The Los Angeles Angels traded rookie shortstop Jean Segura and two Top 10 prospects in their system — Double-A right-handers Ariel Pena and Johnny Hellweg — to Milwaukee for Greinke.

The Rangers might be more inclined to make a deal at the trade deadline, with its pitching staff battling injuries and the American League West division foe Angels trading for Greinke. But they were weary of giving up too much in a package for Miami Marlins starter Josh Johnson.

The 30-year-old Shields is 8-7 with a 4.52 ERA this season.

Tim Kurkjian of ESPN.com reports that the Los Angeles Angels have discussed a deal with the Tampa Bay Rays that would send righthander James Shields out west for centerfielder Peter Bourjos and catcher Hank Conger.

Kurkjian’s source said that Angels righthander Ervin Santana could also be included in the trade.

The Angels haven’t gotten everything they thought they would get out of their top four starters, with Dan Haren and Santana having struggled. Shields has had a down year (8-6, 4.39 ERA), but he’d won at least 11 games and pitched at least 195 innings in five straight seasons entering 2012.

As for the Rays, Kurkjian writes that they likely view Bourjos as the heir to B.J. Upton, who probably will leave as a free agent after the season.

A number of teams are interested in the services of Rays pitcher James Shields heading toward the trade deadline. (Al Messerschmidt/Getty Images)

As teams are trying to make a push for the playoffs, pitching will be essential especially with the upcoming trade deadline approaching.

The Los Angeles Angels and the Detroit Tigers are reportedly interested in Tampa Bay Rays right-hander James Shields, according to CBSSports.com. The Los Angeles Dodgers may also be in the hunt, reports the Los Angeles Times.

The report says the Rays are looking for pitching prospects or a young catcher in return. Shields has a team option in his contract worth $9 million in 2013 and $12 million in 2014.  He is making $7 million this season.

Shields is 8-6 with a 4.39 ERA and 1.44 WHIP in 20 starts this season and has struck out 124 batters in 131 1/3 innings.