Greinke returning to Royals’ rotation
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The Royals and Zach Greinke have agreed to a contract for the coming season, a person familiar with the deal told the Associated Press on Monday, making it nine seasons over two stints in Kansas City for the six-time All-Star pitcher.
The person spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because the 39-year-old Greinke still needed to pass a physical.
The financial terms of the deal were not immediately available. Greinke was paid $13 million last season by the Royals, where he spent the first seven season before returning last year and going 3-9 with a 3.68 ERA and striking out 73 over 137 innings for the rebuilding club.
Greinke did spend two stints on the injured list but allowed two runs or fewer in 17 of his 26 starts last season.
Greinke, who will turn 40 in October, began his career in Kansas City as a mercurial first-round pick in the 2002 amateur draft. He nearly walked away from the game before making it to the big leagues two years later, beginning a 20-year career that included stints with the Brewers, Angels, Dodgers, Diamondbacks and Astros.
Plans unveiled for new Rays ballpark
A new ballpark for the Tampa Bay Rays will be built near the current one under plans unveiled as part of a massive redevelopment project that also includes affordable housing, office space and retail in what was once a thriving Black neighborhood.
Mayor Ken Welch, of St. Petersburg, Fla., chose a partnership between the Rays and the Houston-based Hines development company from among four proposals to transform an 86-acre (34-hectare) downtown site where Tropicana Field now sits. Welch said the plan should keep the Rays in St. Petersburg for the long term.
The Rays have played at the domed Tropicana Field since their inaugural 1998 season but have considered moving elsewhere, such as neighboring Tampa, amid consistently low attendance. There was also a proposal to split their home games between St. Petersburg and Montreal that was rejected by Major League Baseball.
Odds and ends
Longtime broadcaster Chip Caray is taking over as the television play-by-play voice of the St. Louis Cardinals, more than five decades after his grandfather and Hall of Fame broadcaster Harry Caray became a baseball staple with the same club. Bally Sports Midwest announced Caray’s hiring in a statement Monday. The voice of the Atlanta Braves is replacing Dan McLaughlin, who left the Cardinals booth in December after 24 years following his third arrest for drunken driving. …
Righthander Darren O’Day, who posted a 4.15 ERA in 28 games with the Atlanta Braves in 2022, announced he is retiring after 15 seasons for six teams in the major leagues. “The mental, physical and time demands have finally outweighed my love for the game,” O’Day said. O’Day, 40, featured a sidearm delivery. He was 42-21 with a 2.59 ERA in 644 games, all in relief. …
The Miami Marlins acquired reliever Matt Barnes in a trade with the Boston Red Sox. Miami sent lefthander Richard Bleier to Boston for Barnes and cash considerations. …
Outfielder Hunter Renfroe went to salary arbitration with the Los Angeles Angels in the first case to be argued this year. Renfroe, who turned 31 on Saturday, requested a raise from $7.65 million to $11.9 million and the Angels asked the arbitrators to pick $11.25 million. Twenty-eight additional players are scheduled for hearings through Feb. 17.