KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) – The Kansas City Royals have exercised their $13.5 million option on right-hander James Shields for 2014 after he anchored one of the league’s best starting rotations last season.

Shields, acquired last offseason in a trade from Tampa Bay, went 13-9 with a 3.15 ERA and an AL-leading 228 2-3 innings. He was especially good after the All-Star break, going 9-3 with a 3.06 ERA to help the Royals get into playoff contention.

Kansas City went 43-27 after the break to finish 86-76, its best record since 1989.

The decision Thursday to exercise Shields’ option, which needed to be made within three days of the end of the World Series, was mostly a formality.

Earlier in the day, Shields won the Joe Burke Special Achievement Awarded presented by the Kansas City chapter of the Baseball Writers’ Association of America.