The Royals have placed right-hander Zack Greinke on the 15-day injured list, per Anne Rogers of MLB.com, with right posterior elbow soreness. The move is retroactive to yesterday. Left-hander Taylor Hearn was recalled in a corresponding move.
Greinke, 39, has an extensive track record of major league success but is struggling through one of the worst seasons of his career. He’s allowing 5.53 earned runs per nine innings, striking out just 15.8% of batters faced. He hasn’t had huge strikeout totals for a few years now, relying more on limiting hard contact, but that’s proved to be more challenging this year. His 8.6% barrel rate is the worst of his career, as is the 89.5 mph average exit velocity he’s allowed. 17.2% of fly balls he’s allowed are leaving the yard, one of the worst such rates of his career.
It’s unclear how long Greinke is expected to be out, but the club will have to operate without him for at least the next two weeks. That will leave them with a rotation of Brady Singer, Cole Ragans, Jordan Lyles and Alec Marsh. They are currently in a stretch of 12 straight games, with their next off-day not until Sunday. That means they will need a fifth starter, or a bullpen game, at some point between now and then. Max Castillo and Jonathan Bowlan are each on the 40-man roster though they both have ERAs above 5.00 in Triple-A this year.
Greinke is currently sitting on 2,995 career strikeouts. Just five more will allow him to hit the 3,000 milestone, something that only 19 other pitchers have ever done in history. Royals fans, and baseball fans in general, will hope that he returns to health in time to hit that incredible marker.
Hearn will be making his Royals debut whenever he gets into a game, as he was just acquired from Atlanta prior to the deadline. He has a 3.37 ERA in the minors this year, tossing 42 2/3 innings between the two organizations. He’s struck out 30.1% of opponents in that time but walked 12.8%.
slidepiece
3000 K
10 SB/10 HR career may now never happen
Buzz Killington
Royals are trash. They could bring him back two years from now and allow him to pitch two years to get to it if needed. Don’t give up hope.
afsooner02
Covid season cost him at least 45 ks. Otherwise he likely has it.
With that cy young, he gets in the HOF. Just won’t be first ballot.
Mercenary.Freddie.Freeman
@af. Schilling has 3000 k and 3 times World Series championships which he was a HUGE part of and he didn’t make it. I wonder how Greinke will do with his odd personality when the HOF voting time comes for him.
luckyh
Greinke will be fine. Personality totally different. Schill absolutely deserves to be in the Hall, just way too offensive and opinionated.
MLB Top 100 Commenter
Schilling is a bigot, but if you judge him for his results on the field, he is a clear choice for HOF.
unpaidobserver
It’s literally a popularity contest.
case
Who cares how many K’s they have, it’s borderline irrelevant compared to ERA. World Series Championships are a team stat, though Schilling was impressive in some of those series, proving he could do well against top flight competition. Certainly more impressive than someone like Clemens.
Cam
Greinke’s personality is generally likeable. Schilling’s personality is generally not.
Mercenary.Freddie.Freeman
Manny there are far worse decades enshrined in the HOF. Cap Anson, Ty Cobb, Rogers Hornsby, Tris Speaker, Tom Yawkey.
kcmark
Actually it’s not. Greinke is rather stand-offish and can be rude.
MLB Top 100 Commenter
2955 strikes and 45 to go. Not just 5 to go. Time for him to retire and go to HOF but it is not like Royals have much at stake so he will be back.
JackPine
Except for ohtani
The UnderCROWNd
He needs 45 strikeouts, not 5. Writer misread the numbers… Greinke is at 2,555.
Rishi
Pitchers always pitch a season or two too many. It messes up their career stats too. All to pitch for a horrible team. But baseball is fun. Especially when you don’t have to play every single day.
Rishi
Oh yea and money is cool too. I forgot somehow.
mlb fan
“A season or two too many “..I totally agree, but Zack is a stand up guy and has always made it clear, he was in it for the money and would try to make and earn every last cent.
Rishi
Yea. He got a solid contract. Who wouldn’t want that money.
clrrogers
Posterior elbow soreness? I didn’t even know my elbow had a butt.
Rsox
What you don’t want is a crack…
clrrogers
Or does my butt have an elbow? I’m confused.
cadagan
Anterior is front. Posterior is back.
jlux
He is at 2,955 K’s according to bbref.
kma
Haha. 2955..2995..3005. It doesn’t matter. He’ll be in the HOF within the next ten years with Kershaw, Scherzer, Verlander and CC.
User 3595123227
Why would cc sabbatical get in the Hall Of Fame?
unpaidobserver
“One of these things is not like the other, one of these things just isnt the same.”
kma
3000 Ks and Yankees get in, like it or not.
Cam
CC is basically a lock to get in – 3000 K’s, 250 wins (to keep the traditionalists happy), a Cy Young and a World Series win. His bWAR is right there in line with Feller, Sutton and Marichal.
Rishi
WAR/162. CC Sabathia-3.8. Cole Hamels-4.7. Tim Hudson- 4.1. All within 5 career war. Only one of these guys is gonna get any consideration tho. Seems unfair. Hudson got 3% of vote and fell off likely because of a lack of Ks influencing biased voters(even tho he isn’t a HOFer but he deserves more consideration than 3%). Should Hamels be punished for being almost as valuable in his career as CC but in fewer seasons?
penale52
He’s 45 strikeouts away from 3,000. Not 5.
DBH1969
He went on the IL, not to the funeral home. He will get to 3,000 strike outs. He already has 200 wins. He might go in first ballot
Tigers3232
@DBH he has 73 Ks in 22 starts this season. Even without an IL stint 3,000 was anything but a certainty. He ll need to come back and have probably 2-3 high K games. He’s only had 6 Ks twice this season and 5 twice. For his sake I hope he gets there, looks like a long shot to happen this season though.
DBH1969
He was 11 and 6 two years ago and suddenly tosses his first losing season 17 years followed by a horrible 1 and 11. That speaks injury last year to me that was either ignored or not taken seriously.
I mean, I could be wrong. But I think the dude said I am hurt, but just let me get to 3000 and then I will retire, and in doing so, made the injury worse.
Now a days you can legit say, he is only 39 hah! He will get fixed, come back for his 45Ks, and then prolly pitch another 3 or 4 years.
Cory in Texas
Let’s go Taylor. Make it happen.
User 3595123227
Come on it’s already Tuesday night and not the first pitcher has stepped up this week for a Tommy John Surgery. Starting to make me nervous.
angt222
Greinke had to work for that $8.5M this year.
angt222
With the universal DH, idk if he was going to reach the 10/10 mark.
Hawkeye75
He doesn’t have 2995 strikeouts. He has 2955.
AllAboutBaseball
Wuth the way he is pitching He won’t reach 3K this year.
KrustyTheKlown
Him getting to the HOF but not Schilling is a travesty. They have nearly identical stats.
differentbears
I know wins and losses aren’t as important, but a record of 1-12 is a pretty ugly line.