The Rangers are seriously considering the idea of pursuing free agent right-hander Zack Greinke, according to MLB.com’s T.R. Sullivan. The Rangers are studying the possibility of signing Greinke, though their interest will depend on his asking price.
Not only would signing Greinke provide the Rangers’ rotation with a boost, it would prevent the free agent from returning to Anaheim. Re-signing Greinke is a "huge priority" for the Angels, Danny Knobler reported yesterday. The pursuit of Greinke will get “serious” with the Angels and Rangers involved, Alden Gonzalez of MLB.com wrote today (Twitter link). The Dodgers could also be interested, since they need pitching and have the resources to spend big on free agents.
Greinke is MLBTR’s top-ranked free agent for the upcoming offseason. The Excel Sports Management client won’t be able to sign with a team other than the Angels until Saturday morning. Check out MLBTR’s complete list of the year’s top 50 free agents and predict their ultimate destinations while you’re at it.
If Greinke signs with the Rangers, that would be quite a chaos for the Angels fans and front office.
A rotation of:
Greinke
Darvish
Harrison
Lewis
Holland
(M. Perez)
(Ogando)
could be one of the best around.
Lewis is out at least half of next year, if not the whole year. Plus, Holland better pitch better next year for it to be considered a strong rotation. If he doesn’t improve, they may be looking at a re-incarnation of CJ the Imploder.
Even if Lewis is out for at least half of the season, they still have enough depth to hold his spot down or even take over in Martin Perez case.
Ogando may start next year.
They didn’t have the depth last year, and it’s the same group of guys. I agree that they could have a good rotation, but Holland has to show more and Perez has to show something as well. Too inconsistent to be relied on.
Isn’t that the case with almost every single rotation out there? 4th and 5th starters are usually not that reliable. Perez and Holland have a lot of potential.
They do have a ton of potential. It’s time for Holland to turn that potential into something consistent though. He’s been around a while now.
Those were his 2011 splits. Only had 1 month all year in 2012 with ERA under 4. He’s been in the league long enough now that he should be showing more consistency with his kind of stuff.
CJ was consistently solid during each of the two years he started for Texas, so this “imploder” comment is silly and wrong. No, he wasn’t great in the playoffs, but if Holland gives Texas what Wilson did both of those seasons, they would be getting more than their money’s worth.
Aren’t the playoffs what really matter most? He did implode when the lights were brighter and the games mattered most, especially the playoffs.
you forgot feliz im not sure when he come back but he is in there
It still wouldn’t be the best in their division. Weaver>Greinke>Wilson>Richards>Haren/Lackey/Mills would still top it. You have to remember the Rangers front office is more preoccupied with retaining Hamilton, if they lose him they lose attendance.
The front office is willing to let Hamilton go. The Rangers fans are tired of Hamilton’s act so no, attendance will not go down. He was HORRRIBLE when it counted.
I love Rangers fans. Their star player gives them consistent 40 HR, 100+ RBI years, and the moment he goes on a cold streak they are there to boo him. Real fans
I have been a diehard Ranger fan and baseball fan my enitre life. The guy is anything BUT consistent. A cold streak is a week or two, not 3 months. A star player catches a crucial out and doesn’t blame it on Red Bull. A star player also stays healthy. It got old. Same with dealing with CJ Wilson and his crap. It gets old. He is like an ex girlfriend, I wish them well but adios.
sounds like yankees
And Beltre is our star player. He is consistent, stays out of the headlines, is a leader both on and off the field and he shows up in the playoffs and when the games really count.
If you haven’t heard any of the interview that Mike Adams gave in regards to Hamilton, go listen to it. The players are tired of him as well. That has been rumored for the last year and half but just came to light in the interview. google “mike adams interview hamilton”
when did lackey get thrown into angels rotation…even as a possibility? i hope that dude stays as far away from anahiem as possible….
Came out today on the Ranger’s website that they have told Ogando to stretch out and be a starter next year. Currently it would be Darvish, Harrison, Holland, Ogando, Perez if they don’t sign somebody. Colby as a mid season add and Feliz to the pen if he is even healthy by the end of next year.
Not going to happen, I doubt Texas will throw 6yr – 130+ for a pitcher, and if it does happen,i would expect the angels to go in on Hamilton and trade bourjos for pitching.
Angels aren’t going to even look Hamilton’s way.
The Angels have had enough trouble with injuries, I doubt anyone in the AL West will bid on him including the Rangers.
I’m just saying if we lose greinke don’t even rule out the fact the angels are going to run at Hamilton…I don’t like the idea of him with the angels
Somehow I doubt Hamilton would consider the Angels. If he has temptations with alcohol and night life in Texas, you can multiply that by ten in Cali. It’s not a good situation for he and his family.
Isn’t much more than they spent on an unproven Darvish………….
They also threw those numbers at Cliff Lee
Greinke is gonna get overpaid a ton i see it coming. 150 mil for 6 years plus a option year or two minimum
My guess is Greinke will get somewhere in the realm of 5 yrs and $125 mill w/a vesting option for a 6th yr.
If so, it will be interesting to see which team pays that. Its an overpay in terms of value, but its likely what the market will bear.
He will be expecting the same figures as Cain and Hamels got so I only see the Angels and Dodgers in the race. The Rangers just don’t have the bank yet, give them a couple years.
They would have to get creative and not re-sign Hamilton of course, but why would you think they don’t have the money?
i know haha. I love the people on here that think they know a teams payroll and financial situation like the back of their hand
don’t have the bank yet? We have two billionaires as owners who are known to open up their pockets ($50+ mil posting for Darvish) and have said they will do so again if it presents itself. Our big TV deal starts in ’14 or ’15 as well.
I call BS….they are just trying to up the asking price on Greinke to limit the Angels long term financially.
The Angels don’t need any help in limiting themselves financially for the future, they do it on their own quite fine. The Rangers would be a good bet to place as Greinke’s landing spot.
Hunter, Santana, a few relievers, and likely Haren will all be off the books for 2013… that’s $40M+ off the payroll in one offseason. Wells is gone after 2014 as well which is another $22M+. They really don’t have that many long, overpaid commitments holding them back and they have cash to blow regardless.
It really must be dreadful to be an Angels fan. Not only are they a 3rd place team with a payroll of $150M but they’ve also this idea that they can outspend everyone else as they watch their attendance and exposure decline.
Not to mention the dwindling of depth in their franchise and the increase in spending this will require in order to field a 25-man roster.
Yes sir, the Angels know too well how to limit themselves.
I wonder how financially limited they’ll be with that huge TV deal they signed recently. Will be interesting to see how the offseason unfolds, and who the players are for Greinke/Hamilton.
Rangers considering Greinke? This just in: water is wet.
The Rangers have to at least throw a max offer to Greinke–either to sign him (plan A) or to get the Angels to tie up even more money than they planned (plan B).
Did this become NBATradeRumors? Max contract? And even if there were such a thing, “at least a max contract” doesn’t make much sense.
I have Grienke penciled in to the Rangers in my free agent predictions! Since I don’t think they’re retaining Hamilton, this is the most logical move for them. Nolan Ryan said he wants the Rangers to have a ton of pitching despite their hitters ballpark. This would go a long way and would also hurt the Angels in the process.
With the Rangers, Angels and Dodgers in the mix for Greinke, he is going to get PAID by someone!
No I can’t see greinke in Texas, I see Michael Bourn or a upton brother.
I don’t believe the Angels would’ve gotten rid of Santana and probably Haren without knowing ahead of time that they would be close to finishing a deal with Greinke. It would leave them with only 3 starters. Doesn’t make any sense. The Rangers should go after offense in that ballpark anyway.
That has served us well if you remember the 90’s or early 2000’s. It wasn’t until we had some sort of a pitching staff we made it to October.
Greinke will reach close to a $200 million deal. The Angels just dumped Santana and are on their way to dump Haren. Greinke isn’t just an option now, it’s a NECESSITY. I believe the Angels are also looking to dump Wells. If they get away with ALL of those feats, they’ll have a lot of room to spend.
Nobody is taking Vernon Wells unless the Angels eat virtually all of his contract.
If the Angels drop $200 mill on Grienke (ie. 8 yrs/$200 mill), then they can have him. Personally, I can’t imagine the Angels having 2 $200 mill players on their payroll. Yes, they have deep pockets, but that’s pretty extreme for their budget.
I think anyone going 8 yrs on Greinke is crazy. Heck, even a 5 yr deal is risky, but way more reasonable than 8 yrs.
Agree…..8 years for any starting pitcher is insane.
See Kevin Brown.
Just what the Angels wanted to hear…
Looks like the Astro’s wont be relevant until….NEVER!
Something no one is mentioning is that when July came along, everyone knew that he was going to be traded, but there were a lot of rumors swirling around that he did not want to play in Texas. I don’t know if that’s because he doesn’t like the heat, or because the jetstream to right would probably cause his ERA to rise, which might hurt his pocketbook for his FA year. Or it could just mean that he doesn’t like Texas and doesn’t want to play there. If that’s true, then I wouldn’t expect that would change, especially since we wouldn’t expect Texas to give him the best offer of all the offers.
Remember that Texas had the best offer to Cliff Lee 2 years ago at $150 mil or so (he chose less as he really wanted to be a Phillie). Last year Texas paid over $50mil just to talk to Darvish and then signed him to a $60mil deal (6yr 110 mil deal basically). You don’t think they won’t do that again? Especially if they are not going to a 6yr $150 mil deal with Hamilton.
I don’t think they would be scared at all from a Matt cain type deal, 6yr, 127.5 mil.
This is a perfect move for the Rangers. Dallas is about as big of a market as I’d want that headcase pitching in.
What difference, in all reality, does the size of the media market make to a player like Greinke–who limits his exposure to the media to only what would be required of him wherever he pitches/
Greinke to the jays for 6/132 AA finally gets a stud starter and they sign marcum to a 3/27 and mccarthy for 1/8.5 and have a rotation of
Greinke
Marcum
Marrow
Mccarthy
Romero
7/200