L.A. gets Greinke for 6 years
ESPN says deal is for $147 million. Also, Royals trade for Shields, Davis.
The Los Angeles Dodgers have signed Zack Greinke to a six-year contract, the team announced Monday.
The deal is worth approximately $147 million over six years, a source told ESPN.
The contract will pay Greinke more than the $144 million extension Cole Hamels signed with the Philadelphia Phillies in July, and is the largest ever for a right-handed pitcher.
In total dollars, Greinke’s new deal is the second-most lucrative in history for a pitcher, trailing only the original $161 million deal signed by CC Sabathia in 2009.
Greinke will also have a full opt-out clause in his new deal, a source told ESPN. He will not have a no-trade clause.
■ Los Angeles also signed South Korean pitcher Ryu Hyun-jin to a six-year, $36 million deal late Sunday. The left-hander becomes the first player to go directly from the Korea Baseball Organization to the major leagues. hitter.
Reds: Left fielder Ryan Ludwick (.275, 26 homers and 80 RBIs) signed a twoyear, $15 million deal with Cincinnati that includes a mutual option for the 2015 season. He agreed to the contract over the weekend and came for the formal announcement.
Royals: Kansas City sent top prospects Wil Myers and Jake Odorizzi along with two other minor leaguers to the Tampa Bay Rays late Sunday night for former All-Star James Shields and fellow right-hander Wade Davis, making an aggressive move to bolster a rotation that was one of the worst in the major leagues last season.
“It’s time for us to start winning at the major league level,” Royals gen- eral manager Dayton Moore said.
Shields, who turns 31 this month, has been a stalwart in the Tampa Bay rotation the past seven seasons. He was an AllStar two years ago, when he went 16-12 with a 2.82 ERA and finished third in the American League Cy Young Award voting, and was 15-10 with a 3.52 ERA in 33 starts last season.
Tigers: Detroit signed catcher Brayan Pena (.236, two HRs, 25 RBIs for the Royals) to a one-year contract.
Twins: Former Minnesota first baseman Doug Mientkiewicz has been chosen by the Twins to manage their Class A affiliate in the Florida State League, the Fort Myers Miracle. The Twins announced their minor league assignments for 2013 on Monday.
Mientkiewicz played for the Twins from 1998 to 2004.
White Sox: Chicago announced signing Jeff Keppinger (career-high .325 in 115 games with the Rays) to a three-year, $12 million contract Monday. The versatile infielder could fill a hole at third base for the White Sox.
MLB, StubHub renew secondary ticket market deal: Major League Baseball has agreed to a new five-year deal with StubHub as its secondary ticket market.
The original contract started in 2007 and expired after last season. Financial terms of the agreement announced Monday were not disclosed.