The Detroit Tigers made a bid to acquire pitcher James Shields from the Tampa Bay Rays before he was traded to the Kansas City Royals. The Tigers reportedly offered outfielder Avisail Garcia and other prospects for the Rays ace. The Rays ultimately decided to go with the Royals package that included top prospect Wil Myers.

The Tigers chances to land the right-handed Shields were hurt because their top prospect is Nick Castellanos, a third baseman, and the Rays are set at third base with Evan Longoria. Garcia, 21, made his debut with the Tigers in 2012 and hit .319 in 23 regular season games and also appeared in 12 of the Tigers postseason contests, hitting .261.

Shields has been in Tampa's rotation for seven seasons and was an All-Star in 2011, when he finished third in Cy Young voting. Last season Shields went 15-10 with a 3.52 ERA and 1.168 WHIP.