Royals continue to work to acquire frontline pitching

Having already signed Jeremy Guthrie to a three-year deal and trading for Ervin Santana, the Kansas City Royals continue their search for starting pitching, specifically a top-of-the-rotation pitcher, writes Jeff Passan of Yahoo! Sports.

In fact, Passan reports the Royals have dangled top prospect Wil Myers in trade talks, but are are only willing to move the 21-year-old outfielder for a frontline pitcher.

In their search for a top-of-the-rotation starter, the Royals have dangled outfielder Wil Myers, the consensus 2012 minor league player of the year, two sources told Yahoo! Sports.

Someone like Tampa Bay's James Shields could fit the bill, but Passan warns the team is hesitant in making a move for the right-handed pitcher because he is only under team control for two more seasons.

The Royals have discussed potential deals with the Arizona Diamondbacks, Seattle Mariners and Oakland Athletics, too. All of those teams have plenty of starting pitching from which to deal.

Myers began 2011 in Double-A before being promoted to Class Triple-A after just 35 games. He then batted .304/.378/.554 with 24 home runs in 99 games. While that performance did occur in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League, Myers is advanced for his age (21 years of age in Triple-A is very impressive) and the power is legit.