The Royals officially extended Shields a one-year, $15.3 million qualifying offer Monday. This was merely a formality, as the Royals were never going to just let Shields walk without receiving a draft pick in return. Although Shields struggled in the postseason to the tune of a 6.12 ERA, he went 14-8 during the regular season with a 3.21 ERA, 1.18 WHIP and 180 strikeouts over 227 frames, his eighth straight season reaching the 200-inning threshold. The Royals have expressed interest in re-signing the 32-year-old right-hander, but Shields will turn down the qualifying offer and the expectation is that he'll end up signing elsewhere.