In the event the Diamondbacks rebound from a nightmarish 2016 to contend for a playoff spot this year, they should still be prepared to jettison right-hander Zack Greinke if the opportunity arises, opines ESPN’s Buster Olney (subscription required/recommended). Greinke will make $34MM in 2017, meaning he’s currently taking up a major league-high 46.7 percent of his team’s payroll (the Diamondbacks are at $72.8MM in commitments), notes Olney, who argues that dumping the 33-year-old’s contract should be one of the organization’s highest priorities. Greinke still has an unappealing $172.5MM left on the $206.5MM contract he inked as a free agent last winter, though Olney suggests he could be movable if the Diamondbacks agree to pay $50MM to $60MM.
Now for the latest on three other pitchers:
- Speaking of massive contracts for aces, Rangers righty Yu Darvish was “very open” to discussing a five- to six-year extension worth around $30MM per annum earlier this offseason, but no serious talks have occurred yet, according to Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News. While the two could still reach a deal prior to the season, hammering out an agreement of that caliber during spring training would be difficult, Grant writes. For now, Darvish is on track to hit free agency after next season.
- The mystery team vying for free agent righty Sergio Romo could be the reliever-needy Nationals, who have discussed signing the 33-year-old, tweets FanRag’s Jon Heyman. Romo told Casey Stern of MLB Network on Tuesday that both the Nationals and Mets have shown interest in him, and the longtime Giant is open to leaving the West Coast to sign with either (Twitter link). Romo could end up staying in his native California, though, given that the Dodgers are reportedly pursuing him.
- Free agent southpaw Jerry Blevins has at least one single-year, $6MM offer in hand, tweets Olney. Of course, that figure is right in line with the guaranteed $6.5MM the Indians will give fellow lefty reliever Boone Logan. It’s possible the $6MM proposal is from the Mets, who want to re-sign Blevins, 33, but are looking to avoid a multiyear deal. Blevins, who was with the Mets the previous two seasons, recorded a 2.79 ERA with 11.14 K/9 against 3.21 BB/9 in 42 innings last year.
Yu Darvish is my favorite player but I don’t think his track record merits 30 million over 5/6 years.. He is one of the most talented pitchers in baseball but he has only put together 1 cy caliber season. All those pitches and strikeouts are flashy but I’d like to see some consistency and 200 innings this year before giving out that contract if I’m the rangers
Agreed
Agreed.
Really? I’d give him 30 million over 5 or 6 years. That’s 6 million or 5 million per season if you go 30! (Next time make sure you state, “I don’t think his track record merits 30 million PER season over 5 or 6 years.”
don’t be a jerk. everyone knew what he meant.
Ridiculous comment. This used to be a fun site to talk baseball but now like everything else on the internet it’s a forum to insult and troll
You should quit the internet. You are clearly too sensitive for it. May I suggest a nice shuffleboard league?
Thanks for proving my point. Tough guys with a keyboard.
I haven’t owned a keyboard in years bro, thanks tho!
Good come back bro lol
My initial comment, as my last comment was, was a joke, no need for everyone to get salty.
I don’t see the DBacks contending without Greinke, moving him would be a tough pill to swallow. That extra money, however, could be spent on the bullpen and toward extensions for Pollock, Peralta, Lamb and Goldschmidt so it may be worth it.
I don’t see them contending with almost half of their payroll committed to one guy.
yeah no enough talent around him to offset that.
the diamondbacks have one of the best all around position player groups. they can’t go win a world series without an ace. no one would say that greinke needs to be traded if he had a great yet like he did with LA. also if this was goldschmidt taking up this payroll, no one would even think about trading him
There’s not enough “Talent On The Mound” to offset $34 million. That deal might go down as “The Worst Contract Ever”……
Now……if by some chance……Greinke returns to the masterful pitcher that he was a few years ago……”I will Eat Those Words”. No Problem. I just don’t see it happening.
What you need to do is what the Mets did. Stocked young, controllable arms. You trade Greinke for a Sydergaard or deGrom, you’ll be a happy DBACKS fan
Why would anyone trade a Syndergaard or deGrom for Greinke?
LOL. Syn and deGrom are nearly untouchable bc they are TOR guys making peanuts and are under control into the next decade. AZ would need to eat $60-$80m to move Grienke, and they still wouldn’t get a great package back. They are stuck with him; the best they can hope for is Grienke bounces back and maybe they can eat less money to move him in a year. New ownership would help too; same for the Mets.
They are projected as 26/30 for positional fWAR. Even if you wanna argue that their projections are low, they are still obviously not one of the best groups of positional players.
This is the same garbage that dbacks fans were spewing last offseason
That’s just it. THe REAL issue is not how much Greinke is making, but just how low Ken Kendrick is insisting on suppressing payroll. Despite a massive television deal, payroll has remainaed stagnant or diminished going on a third consecutive season now. The Diamondbacks are trying to compete by spending no more than $100 million in total on payroll while playing against the Dodgers and Giants in the NL West.
No, they can’t spend like the Dodgers, but they do have the resources to spend for a payroll significantly higher and nearer the median payroll. If the team were to add only $10 million to payroll, things look much different moving forward. If they added $20 million+ and got closer to the average team payroll, no one would be blinking an eye at Greinke’s salary and pointing at that as to why the team is not succeeding.
That “half the payroll” thing is silly. Buster uses it too. The Diamondbacks have slashed payroll but have a new TV deal that could easily support a payroll of 120-130MM or more (they used the TV deal to justify signing Greinke). The owner wants to build a new stadium so I am guessing he is hording all his money for that.
If the Diamondbacks are going to have a 75MM payroll going forward it doesn’t matter if Greinke is 40% or 70% of their payroll, They are not going to contend.
I would rather have him pitch here than pay $50MM to have him pitch for someone else.
I was with you to nearly the end. The D’backs could contend if Grienke and Miller rebound and they get full productive seasons from Peralta and Pollack. This team scores runs. I would not count them out, especially if they get the pitching.
I’m not sure why any team would sign these 6-7 yr contracts for pitchers at 30+ million/yr. Both Price and Grenke didn’t have great yrs last yr and they are only getting older.
Right? 1 part of the post is describing how a team needs to eat money and ditch one of these pitchers and then the other part is about signing one to a contract like that. I’m sure Darvish is open to a 30m/yr extension…
I agree. Darvish will be 32 when he enters free agency if I’m not mistaken. If he gets 6 years at $30million each ($180million overall), they will be paying him through his age 38 season. That is a lot of money going to a pitcher who may not be very good in those last few years of the contract. Pitchers getting into their mid-late thirties almost always are on the decline, like Price and Greinke very well may be as you said. Of course, there will always be some exceptions.
He’ll be 31, but yeah, your point remains about the decline. There is also the very real injury issues
We are all getting older. Anyone not getting older is called Dead.
We are all getting older. Except Benjamin Button.
With long term expensive contracts (unless they’re signed at a young age) teams are knowingly overpaying. They’re paying for (hopefully) half the contract length of really good play, and the other half a massive downgrade from the player’s prime performance.
Because you have to to get an ace.
Olney is nuts. If an opportunity to dump Greinke was a possibility the new staff there would have almost certainly already done it. Who would give up prospects and still pay him over 100MM, with his age and underwhelming performance last year? No one. Maybe if he’s dominant this year that could change, but not right now.
Depends on how much a meddling ownership is still messing with the guys currently at the wheel. That, and the buyers – if only the Dodgers are really kicking the tires, then those might be some… tense… negotiations.
We also have to add that no one knows who is on his 15 team NTL.
Yeah, makes you wonder what would make you go on Greinke’s no trade list. Of course, he could allow trades to every single cellar dweller or poorly funded team, because teams like the A’s, Twins, Padres, etc, they’d have zero interest in trading for him, effectively increasing the scope of his 15 team no trade clause. That could really narrow the choices down to just a couple of suitors.
Well I mean effectively we know how intelligent Grienke is. So would there be a scenario where he had an inclination this offseason he might be traded or this year, and he wanted full control over his destination so those 15 teams available are just not support that contract. I think it’s interesting, because theoretically he could force the Dbacks hand to trade him to the team of his choosing or deal with the entirety of the contract. He’s just a different guy to start with.
Who is on the list then, that wouldn’t have a realistic chance of making a move?
Reds
Twins
Padres
A’s
Mets
Tigers (although, maybe you never really count out Ilitch)
Brewers
White Sox
Rays
Pirates
Royals
That’s 10 teams right there that fit the bill, 11 if you include the Tigers. Considering he could block trades to 15 teams, once you include these 11, and exclude the Dbacks of course, that leaves 3 actual approved, viable destinations. Not a pretty picture for the Dbacks, if they’re exploring a trade.
Although, now that I think about it, there are probably only 2 or 3 realistic trade partners anyway, unless they’d be willing to include absolute boatloads of cash.
He blocked big market and contending teams so that he can use it as a chip to get people to toss in money when he moves, most likely. A lot of players put the big market teams on their no trade for this exact reason.
Well I guess that’s what I’m wondering because I haven’t been able to find it.
Can’t he change it to start each season? So i’m not sure if you’d be able to find it. I said most likely because I’m just assuming someone like Grienke would list those teams for that reason
Yes, but I believe it’s due early in the offseason. It depends you can usually find some on Cots and others just aren’t on there no matter what time of year. But yes, I just think “if” he wants to get traded he’s probably steering where he goes. Then again that’s just my speculation.
I’m sure the Yankees, Mets, and Red Sox are on there. He’s been known to hate/try to avoid those massive media markets. I know LA fits that bill but maybe he had a change of heart about LA after his time with the Angels.
Hard to tell who is replying to whom, but the Yankees and Red Sox are obvious blocks, if he doesn’t want to play there. I’m talking about teams he could allow himself to be traded to who would have zero interest in trading for him.
That was such a terrible contract the minute it was signed, especially for that team. Having Greinke tank the first year just compounded that. I completely agree with you that they’re gonna have trouble moving it atm. If he pitches better then maybe, but with next years free agency looking better than this one and 2018 looming, they might still find trouble getting a buyer even eating 50 mil
The Grienke signing may bump Pujols’ contract to 2nd worst current contract…assuming Prince Fielder’s contract is excluded bc of medical/insurance reasons.
Olney did say if the opportunity arises…
If Greinke has a strong start, and Kershaw’s back goes out again, stupid stuff happens!
I still remember the uproar when Greinke signed – there was plenty of Dodgers fans calling for heads to roll because they didn’t pay to keep him. Boy, they sure are quiet now.
Okay I’ll take that bait. Are you so sure he won’t rebound this season?
It doesn’t even matter if he rebounds. Losing that front end value like he did has put him in such a huge hole to play to the value of that contract.
If he leads his team into competition in the division, doesn’t that matter? And if it doesn’t matter, then please explain the point of the game to me.
the point is that it isn’t a one man game, so no, he can’t lead his team into competition in the division, the whole unit does it. You don’t just ignore bad performance that you paid for because he does well and your team competes in the division (which they wont unless everyone on that team does really, really well).
Then explain the Cubs and Heyward.
The point isn’t that this is a one-man game, but we should all know that the top of the rotation is a keystone position on any team (wondering why this needs to be explained). Nobody “ignores bad performance” but it seems like you are prepared to do the inverse.
the cubs paid heyward a lot of money and he was a below average player and it’s bad. If you could ask them if they wanted to redo that contract, they likely would They won despite him, not because of him.
I’ not sure what you even mean by explain that.
I responded “…has put him in such a huge hole to play to the value of that contract.”. When you look at his contract and his performance last year and then factor in his age and decline, you realize that he wont supply that value. They signed him with the expectation that he would provide a large portion of his value upfront, he failed in the first year
What inverse are you even talking about?
His performance last year and the dollars they paid him for it are done. In the books. Over.
The inverse you are ignoring is the potential for him to return to his mean performance this year, and the difference that could make in the D’backs competitiveness this year.
The answer to abstract financial arguments about baseball are real baseball arguments. You know, the ones about winning and losing baseball games?
I disagree with the idea of having to move Greinke. Ever team should be able to afford at least one massive contract at a time, and no one else on the diamondbacks roster is making any crazy money as of yet. The Diamondbacks should be able to push payroll over 100m if needed, so they should be fine during the duration of the deal.
You make an important point. The argument that the contract has to be moved because of its big percentage of the D’backs payroll is silly. Could they better afford it if their payroll was twice as high?
yes. Yes they could. higher payroll teams have a much easier time signing inefficient contracts and absorbing the loss. As a dodgers’ fan, you should be well aware of this.
No, because none of us, you included, know how much the D’backs can afford to spend on payroll. Your argument depends on knowledge that you don’t actually have.
Or…it relies on the fact of how much money they actually DO spend when they are apparently “going for it”, cuz ya know, that kinda speaks for itself.
You also don’t need to know how much money a specific team can spend to know that a higher spending team can better absorb inefficient spending on a player because they have more money to make up/cover it up around that player “(wondering why this needs to be explained)”.
This makes no sense. You are not considering at all how much the D’backs are capable of spending. You simply assume they are already (for no apparent reason) spending near their limits.
Not yet, but Goldie only has 2 years left before he gets paid big bucks.
I’d think that the Diamondbacks would have to pay at least 50mil of Greinke’s remaining contract to trade him which would make it an approximate 5 year120mil contract. That’s at least a #2 starters money. Reasonable but not affordable. But would Arizona really pay 50mil to trade their ace, the man they signed as their symbol of contention and the man with the most successful track record? No I just don’t see that happening. Greinke might be traded someday but I think these trade talks should stop for at least 2 more years, unless Arizona somehow takes another step backwards from last year. Anything close to 2013~2015 Greinke could boost the D-backs to a WC spot, which would in itself be improvement.
Looking at the Dodgers, Giants, Rox this year the DBags have less of a chance than they did last year. AZ isn’t a large market team and therefore can’t spend like one. They have to dump Greinke’s contact if they can
you wait two years and he’s gonna be 2 years older with 2 more years of decline, makes him a lot less desirable. Pitchers like him are going to supply most of their value in the front end of their deals.
They are also not a wild card team.just because of greinke.
Don’t think a 6 yr/$30MM AAV extension/salary is justified for Darvish at least not at this point. Depending how he performs in 2017 I think a 5 year guarantee with possibly a 6th year team or vesting option at $25MM per is the limit. And that depends on his 2017 performance.
I thought the dodgers tried to trade for him by picking up his contract last year? I heard some type of rumour about it. The D-backs turned it down I heard.
Yes it was somewhere are his real salary and they expected the Dbacks to pick up the deferred portion. Nothing came to fruition though. It sounded like ownership told the dodgers to cover it all or kick rocks.
I hope the Mets grab Blevins. 6 Mill is an overpay but for one year maybe…
Not in this market, it’s not
What market? Have you seen very many sign and for high prices?
Greinke deal will continue to be a financial mistake of epic proportions, and If if Texas, my response would be YU must be out of your mind
$30M AAV?
Dbacks need to continue to clean up the backend of that roster. Still seems to be a stars and scrubs roster. IMO, bullpen is still a real problem. I think most would bet on them finishing closer to last than first in that division, again. They have payroll limits (whether real or simply a terrible & tight owner) and teams like that can’t make a mistake on a single k of that magnitude. The Greinke k has and will continue to be an anchor around that franchise and they need to move it at almost any cost. They need to make real progress this year or I believe Goldy will want to test FA and they may be forced to trade him at seasons end.