The market for free-agent ace Zack Greinke is “quietly heating up,” tweets ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick. Both the Dodgers and Giants are looking for some clarity in regards to their pursuit of the right-hander, according to Crasnick, who hears that the Excel Sports client is seeking $30MM annually.
As Crasnick notes, that annual target is a challenge for teams interested in Greinke not only due to its own enormity but also due to the fact that Greinke is older than the typical free-agent starter, set to embark on his age-32 campaign in 2016. Most recent multi-year deals of the magnitude Greinke is expected to command conclude in the pitcher’s age-36 season (at least in terms of guaranteed money), but that would cap Greinke at five years. Considering the historically excellent season he just delivered in 2015, however, it’s easy to envision Greinke’s camp seeking six or more years on a free-agent deal.
After all, Greinke’s 1.66 ERA was the lowest single-season mark by a qualified starting pitcher in the past two decades. He logged 222 2/3 innings in the regular season, averaging 8.1 K/9 against 1.6 BB/9 and went on to toss 13 2/3 very solid innings in the playoffs as well. Greinke has been nothing short of brilliant in his three years with the Dodgers, compiling a 2.30 ERA with 8.3 K/9 against 1.9 BB/9 in 602 2/3 regular-season innings, plus a strikingly similar 2.27 ERA in 35 2/3 postseason innings.
Greinke’s age and the fact that he rejected a qualifying offer are both knocks against him when compared to his primary competitors — David Price and Johnny Cueto — but Greinke is also coming off the best season of the three. Beyond that, the general consensus among scouts seems to be that Greinke will age better than many of his elite peers, somewhat lessening the sting of committing a contract of significant length. In addition to the Dodgers and Giants, Greinke has also been linked to the Red Sox and Cubs, though other large-market, high-payroll teams figure to have privately expressed some interest as well.
if the dodgers don’t keep greinke i’m gonna be cranky
your downvotes only make me stronger
The Dodgers need the Mad Hungarian, to come out retirement
“Greinke’s camp”… lol, he doesn’t have a camp. Greinke is his own dude. I don’t even this he had an agent in 2013 when he signed with LAD.
That’s what I like about Greinke he does his own thing
He did hire Casey Close of Excel Sports Management to negotiate that deal, and Excel has represented Greinke since that time. He’s undoubtedly marches to the beat of his own drum — more so than almost anyone in baseball — but Greinke also has one of the most high-profile agents in the industry and has a team of people working on his current contract negotiations.
Can you explain how he does things his own way? I dont know much about him.
He’s way more involved in the construction and negotiation of his contracts than the average MLB player
Yeah, I checked and Close was in fact his agent in 2013, but I believe Greinke constructed his own contract with Ned.
During the negotiations he met with the Dodgers without his agent present. The Dodgers management came away very impressed. One of the stated reasons for signing him then was they way he took charge of himself.
Get him Cards lol a guy can hope right? 🙂
The Cards aren’t getting no one except maybe the Mad Hungarian coming out of retirement. CUBS! ALL THE WAY! At least in Central…LMAO
If 5/$150M is the starting line & the Dodgers re-sign him, the perfect scenario for LAD is for Urias, De Leon to be (at least) a #3 SP in Greinke’s last two years
Wow, what a starting line. I wonder who is going to end up ponying up the money, though I could see the Dodgers obviously trying to keep him. If not, I envision him staying in the NL somewhere.
He won’t sign to the Dodgers for that.He wants 6 years @ 30 a year = 180 Mil which is what I predicted yesterday and who ever signs him that will be the deal 6 years 180 watch!
I have a feeling the appeal of joining Bochy and Posey is going land him in SF
I have a feeling the appeal of money will land him with the highest bidder
He doesn’t want to leave the NL so that’s not necessarily true.
I got a feeling if no one wants to pay a 32 year old pitcher 30 Million over 6 years he will be joining the Mad Hungarian LMAO….
Greinke and Kershaw have the same agent. Dude knew what he was doing when he added the opt out in Greinke’s contract.
Dodgers should sign Jeff Soukup.
I would love to have him in San Francisco but Giants never seem to go full out to get players. 5 yrs 150 doesn’t seem like an offer F.O. would make.
6year with an opt out after 4
Make it a club option and I’d go with that
I don’t know if LA would Opt him again after what he did this time. Straight 6 years 180 Million done deal to whoever that stupid. LMAO
He will be going back to the Angels. Dipoto isn’t there to screw it up this time.
I don’t think greinke goes back to the angels, when they first traded for him, weaver said he didn’t fit in. I think greinke goes to the giants and the dodgers trade for shelby miller. the angels need to sign heyward, then add a bullpen arm, cueto would be nice but the injury history, or I would go after mike leake
The question is will the Giants be willing to give Grienke between 120 to 150 million dollars? They could resign Leake and sign Lackey for less money and fill two spots. Unless the Dodgers trade Pruig, Grienke will not resign with the Dodgers. Heyward yes sign him. If Revere is a non tender, sign him as well. Then use Cron as a trade piece to fill 3rd or 2nd base.
I had a couple ideas for third, trade for plouffe or alverez. re-sign freese or sign Uribe. If none of those happen, how about the possiblilty of trading for hanley ramirez?
Plouffe and Alvarez are below average defensively. Alvarez has been complete trash with his bat the past 2 seasons. Plouffe is average at best with the bat. I would rather than sign Murphy and play him at 3rd over the options available. And would add more balance in the lineup. I would not be surprised if they bring back Kendrick to play second.
I like Johnny G at second , he did a great job. he came up with a lot of clutch hits for them, Or maybe they could snag lawrie away from oakland. Zobrist would be perfect. I just hope Arte goes over and get’s heyward.
The Angeles will sign at least 2 top free agents. One pitcher. One position player. I like Johnny G, his range is really limited. His arm is below average.
Murphy is not the answer for them at third, I think maybe sign Uribe for cheap then hopefully they can bring up Kubizta or Cowart and they can platoon at third. Zobrist would be a great sign. Heyward I think is needed, If not him how about Parra or Span? For a starter , Id say cueto or mike leake. I think they can be a dark horse for Price, also I forget maybe they could get Maeda if he is posted
Uribe is great defensively. But horrible with the bat. It would be like having Ianneta in the line up again. My personal choice would be Arendono in a trade with the Rockies.
there is no way that trade would happen, the angels would have to give up richards imo, and that is not happening ,there isn’t many options for third this year
I said it would be my choice. I didn’t say it would happen. But with Arte Moreno never say never. Giving up Richards would be worth it if they sign a top of the rotation free agent pitcher.
No point debating with AngelsFan4Life. He doesnt really know that much about baseball and how teams are run
I do know baseball
You just said the angels would not trade Richards for Arendo. Arenado is arguably the best third baseman in baseball and only 24 and Richards is replaceable. Case in point
I hope the angels do sign a top tier starter or a solid second tier like leake
I don’t see them signing 2 pitchers unless they trade more pitching to fill other holes
Where is everyone’s head at? Grienke NOT signing for 120 – 150 Million NOT even close. Unless it is 3 or 4 years LMAO.. He wants 6 years plain and simple. That is why he opted out from the Dodgers to secure a finale curtain contract meaning long term before he gets to old or hurt or something happens. Easy to do 1 or 2 years at 38, 39 but not 4, 5 or 6 again.. He knows he is getting old lol. This why clubs are baulking at the 6 years, it wasn’t money at all, it was length of the contract. He had 3 years left, he gets hurt its all over, he signs a new contract with guaranteed money through 6 years he’s laughing to the bank till he is 38 no matter what, and he will make sure it is Guaranteed he is not stupid. He don’t care were he plays and I doubt he has a no trade clause maybe, but it is about security and future with him. Trust me, the 6 years are a BIG factor in this signing, or more money at 5 years. It take 33 or 34 Million a year to secure a 5 year deal with him. So think 5 years 165 Million dollar contract would probably get it done also that is 33 a year or 6 at 30 a year = 180 that is what going to happen. TRUST ME! Wasn’t about money. He’s 32. he already said that, to secure his career. That brings him to 38 then he can do 1 or 2 year deals or retire whatever. Want less year going to cost you more money 33 a year at 5 or 30 a year at 6 pick one… SF or LA first person to hit their buzzer and say deal is the winner…
Learn math at 30 million per season 120 million is a 4 year deal not 3. No one except maybe the Blow Sox will give him more than 30 million per season. I said 120 to 150 million because that would be a 4 or 5 year deal. Which at his age is more realistic. Maybe a team that is desperate will give him that 6th year. Once again like the Blow Sox.
The Dodgers will not trade for Shelby Miller. Their front office is all about the advanced statistics and his are not that impressive. He cares mostly about the money and the Dodgers will offer significantly more than anyone else. He is not going back to the Angels either.
It will be either between the cubs or dodgers for miller
Even if they do trade for Miller, they will not give up anyone that significant and it will have zero impact on them resigning Greinke.
I see things differently
The Angels won’t sign Greinke for the same reason they didn’t sign him last time: worry about his long term health. (Was it the shoulder they were concerned with? Someone help me out here.) They will try for Heyward and settle for Gordon. I could see them trading for Plouffe still. And they will likely sign a starter along the lines of Leake.
Dipoto tried to bluff Grienke. Grienke said after the Angels offered him a 5 year deal add a 6th year and that he would resign. Dipoto refused to add the 6th year. Which was why he chose the Dodgers offer. If Dipoto had given him That 6th year, Hamilton would have never been an Angel.
I think he’s tried his luck in LA and is ready to move on to a team that can close the deal. The Dave Roberts hire is certainly the nail in the coffin.
Grienke will re-sign with the dodgers. They will offer him the most money which is the most important thing to him. The also have the ability to build the strongest team around him. They have the money to sign anyone and young talent to trade for anyone in the league.
If they trade for Miller , then i don’t see them re-signing greinke, the giants will outbid the dodgers
They will not trade for miller. His advanced statistics are not that impressive and the front office is huge on that. Even if they did decide to trade for Miller(which they will not), The Giants could still not outbid the Dodgers.
I think the dodgers lower the payroll by not bringing him back
It is more likely they sign 2 of the big 3 than none. You are just plain wrong in this situation. They need another starter that they can count on and Greinke is clearly the best of the bunch. The will not lower the payroll at the expense of winning.
If they don’t get greinke, I think they could get cueto and then trade for somebody
You just said they wanted to lower the payroll. Cueto will command similar money to Greinke. They will sign one of the 3 so why would they pay similar money for a lesser pitcher?
Because Greinke will command more then Cueto so they would go after Cueto, I think greinke is looking for around 155-160 , Cueto imo maybe 145-150
You really think 10 mil is significant to the Dodgers? The same Dodgers that traded money for draft picks and basically bought Alex wood and Jose Peraza.
If greinke wants to win a ring, he should be smart and think on it. I don’t see him winning one with the dodgers, their bullpen outside of jansen is a question mark.
First you said he wouldn’t re-sign because the Dodgers wouldn’t pay the money for him. Now it is because he wants to win a ring. They have won the division three years in a row. They are much closer to a championship team than the giants. They will obviously address their bullpen during the offseason through trades and free agents.
You’ve said that the last 5 years and yet the giants have 3 rings. Talk is cheap. I know it hurts to see your rival win championships.
You are probably right. The Giants will win the championship every other year. The Dodgers have a new manager, essentially unlimited money, and arguably the best farm system in baseball. I wonder why they have the best odds to win it all according to vegas and the Giants are simply middle of the pack. But I’m sure you know more than people who do so for a living. Any real Giants fan knows taht the dodgers are a far more complete team right now.
That is the dumbest thing I ever heard. The Nationals had the best Odds to win it last year, from Vegas. Paper means nothing and experts there are no experts. Toronto was also favored after the Price trade to win it all by the EXPERTS across the board and Vegas. Don’t bank on Experts. Farm system your wrong there also, according to the experts as you live by the Cubs have the best farm system right now. Thats what the “EXPERTS” say. Should I link you to about 10 write ups. I know you love the Dodgers but don’t talk out your ass.
Link me those write ups please. You are so WRONG. All of the cubs top prospects are in the bigs. They probably don’t even have a top 5 system anymore.This is not the 14-15 season, so please no links to articles from then. The Dodgers have 2 of the top 5 prospects and 4 of the top 25 in baseball. That is not even including the 10 top internationally prospects that they have recently signed. They could literally trade for ANY player in baseball if they truly wanted. And I’m sure you know more than vegas HAHA. It’s awesome to meet someone who can predict the future with 100 percent accuracy like yourself. I simply stated they were a more complete team than the Giants and that is a FACT. I cant claim they will win the world series next year, but I can claim that them winning is much more likely than the Giants winning.
The Dodgers will get the Mad Hungarian out of retirement and win the 2016 World Series you heard it her first, ask Uncle Santa LMAO
More than that 6 years at 30 Million a year = 180 Million that starts the bidding, anything less is a waste of time. Maybe Maybe 5 @ 31 = 155
Cause Cueto wont ask for 6 years and he won’t be the same money… Cueto will go at about 160 @ 6 or 140 @ 5 Grez is 6 @ 30 =180
The Dodgers Payroll is so screwed up right now on blown high contracts. For one the Dodgers are NOT going to give him 6 years, there will be no options fool me once shame on you fool me twice shame on me. He wants 6 years it is about the years NOT money. The Dodgers will not get 2 of the big 3. Your dreaming. If they lose Grez which I would bet on it, they will go after a 2nd teir pitcher. Their payroll is fu%$ked. NO I SAY NO MLB team going to take their blown high contract players in trade like over the hill Kept and company. LOL Blame the front office for spending two much money, on garbage. 40% over Lux tax this year and tht number goes up for about 2 more years yeah they get Grez and Price hahaha, and Santa my uncle. I take 2 Lambos and a Ferrari Enzo Uncle Santa. LOL
You clearly know nothing about baseball or the Dodgers. They have essentially unlimited money because of their new TV deal. They make 280 million a year off a TV alone. If they wanted all 3 they could EASILY afford to sign them. But they have a great GM and would never do that. Do some research and learn about baseball before you make such an asinine post.
Just like they have been doing since the new ownership took over right? Checkbooks don’t buy WS Championships.
I would contest that 3 division championships is pretty impressive for 3 years of new ownership after taking over a dysfunctional franchise. But I guess not winning a championship every other year is not good enough. LOL you probably actually think the giants will win every other year.
For a team that had an awful farm system and a cheap owner, the new ownership’s check book helped get them in the playoffs. From there, it’s not always the best team that wins. Giants won 3 World Series and they were never the best team. They got hot at the right time.
I’m a Dodger fan, so on principle, I hate the Giants. But I do admire how they have built their team. Posey and Bum are excellent, they have several young players from their system playing well on the infield and they made a great trade and follow up free agent signing in Pence. If he’s healthy, they are a different team. Because their pitching needs help, while I think, and hope, the Dodgers keep Greinke, I could see the Giants signing him as well.
The Giants don’t typically pony up the kind of money it will take to sign Grienke, and I agree, I see him staying in the NL. In the end, I think he will re-sign with the Dodgers, as they are the most inclined and able to roll out the $$.
would be shocked if it’s the cubs getting greinke
Won’t be the Cubs, they have no interest in him believe it or not. The Cubs are going to go one of two ways..Either go all in on Price and hope he has more connection with Maddon than Boston’s money like Lester did, or go after 2 2nd tier pitchers(Samz, Lackey or and Mead) then go after Zob, or and Gordon. Maybe do some trading – That is their thing. Cuteo & Grez are not in the Cubs plans even if they don’t get Price. unless both Plan A and B fall through and even then.
To add I would be willing to bet anything anything that Cuteo and Grez sign first. As a matter of fact I’m willing to bet in the next 48 to 72 hours Cuteo is signed, don’t ask me how I know that info, but bank on it. 144 Million 6 years
I wonder if the Astros have had any discussions with Greinke’s agent? Surely Luhnow at least inquired.
The Giants should sign Greinkie because the Giants have more World Series Rings than the Dodgers plus the Giants have a good roster and they have the best pitcher Madison Bumgardner and he would go great with the Giants ,Bruce Bochy has experience with Greinkie obviously the Giants should sign Greinkie.Even year
By that theory Greinke should sign with the Yankees lol
If I’m the Giants I put 6/170 on the table right now, take it or leave it.
That might get it done, but I still think it be 6 at 180
He going to shock the world and sign with Arizona and LA and SF are going to be like WTF just happened. LMAO…You heard it hear first. Trust me. LOL