GREINKE TO D-BACKS
Ace righthander bolts Dodgers for reported 6-year, $207M deal:
IF THE Mets make the playoffs next season, they may wind up facing Zack Greinke in October again. This time, though, the ace pitcher won’t be wearing a Dodgers’ uniform.
Greinke, who teamed with Clayton Kershaw to form a formidable one-two pitching punch in Los Angeles, stunned the baseball world by agreeing to a six-year, free agent contract with the Arizona Diamondbacks, according to multiple media reports. Fox Sports’ Ken Rosenthal first reported via Twitter that Greinke would sign with the D-Backs.
The Arizona Republic pegged the deal’s worth at $206.5 million, meaning Greinke will set a record for average annual value at $34.416 million per year, bettering the $31 million per year that David Price and Miguel Cabrera currently earn.
The pact got immediate reaction on social media, including this from Detroit ace Justin Verlander (@JustinVerlander): “Loving the parity in #mlb today! Who saw the #Dbacks signing Greinke?!?”
The 32-year-old Greinke, a righty who was 19-3 for the Dodgers with the lowest ERA in baseball (1.66), perhaps makes the Diamondbacks an instant contender in the National League West, the same division as the Dodgers. Arizona finished third at 79-83 in 2015 but boasts two elite position players in Paul Goldschmidt and A.J. Pollock.
Most around the game thought Greinke would wind up back in L.A. or with the rival Giants after he triggered an opt-out clause in the six-year, $147-million deal he had with the Dodgers, forfeiting the $71 million remaining on the contract for another shot at free agency.
In fact, earlier this week, Magic Johnson, a Dodgers’ minority owner, was quoted saying Greinke was “our No. 1 priority in the offseason…We like that 1-2 punch that we have with him and Clayton.”
Greinke, who finished second in the voting for the National League Cy Young Award to the Cubs’ Jake Arrieta, beat the Mets in Game 2 of the NL division series in October, allowing two runs and five hits in seven innings.
But in Game 5 the Mets scored three runs off Greinke in 6.2 innings to edge the Dodgers, 3-2.