The right-hander who was runner-up in the 2015 National League Cy Young award voting, has agreed to a six year deal, pending a physical, reports Fox Sports’ Ken Rosenthal.
Advertisement
Arizona made a run at Johnny Cueto earlier this offseason, offering a six-year deal worth $120 million. His 1.66 ERA last season was the lowest in Major League Baseball. He also had a scoreless streak of 45 2/3 innings.
The Red Sox were rumored to have interest in Greinke if Price opted to sign elsewhere.
When free agency began, Los Angeles Dodgers fans desperately were hoping that Greinke would stay with the team. Several days later, left-hander David Price signed for a record $217 million over seven years with the Boston Red Sox. Yes, the Diamondbacks. Not the San Francisco Giants or the Los Angeles Dodgers, who were the supposed front-runners for the right-hander. For his career, Greinke owns an ERA of 3.35 (123 ERA+) and 3.71 K/BB ratio across parts of 12 big-league seasons. He is also considered one of the best hitting pitchers in baseball and a Gold-Glove-type fielder as well.
Greinke, 32, became a free agent this winter by exercising an opt-out clause in his six-year, $147-million contract. That officially makes Greinke the highest paid player in Major League Baseball history. Price’s contract was the most lucrative ever agreed to by a pitcher, exceeding the seven-year, $215 million contract signed by Kershaw leading up to the 2014 season.
A deal was quickly formed less than two hours after news broke of Arizona’s interest in Greinke. Greinke averaged 17 wins, 201 innings, 185 strikeouts and a 2.30 ERA in his three years with the Dodgers.
Regardless of the flukiness of his 2015 performance, Greinke was worth almost 10 wins above replacement to the Dodgers this past season per bWAR, and even if he doesn’t replicate that value for the Diamondbacks going forward, removing that player from the Dodgers’ roster is likely worth a few games in the standings in and of itself.
Advertisement
One reason Greinke may have felt good about joining the Diamondbacks is that the team has a potent offense. He is now in a market where anything short of a World Series championship is considered a failure, and losing Greinke to a division rival won’t get the Dodgers any closer to an October parade. The free-spending Dodgers have already reportedly turned their sights to Cueto and the Giants still have room to pursue another starting pitcher. He posted a 2.77 ERA in 33 starts for the St. Louis Cardinals in 2015 and has an 8-5 postseason record.
