Zack Greinke sounds like he intends to take a wait-and-see approach before committing to a long-term future with the Royals.</p><p>&#8220;I&#8217;m comfortable with my pitching ability,&#8221; he said, &#8220;to (the point) where I feel like I&#8217;m going to pitch (well) for a while. I don&#8217;t need to get a long-term deal because I feel I&#8217;ll be able to pitch (well) and earn a long-term deal when I become a free agent.&#8221;</p><p>Greinke&#8217;s comments came Tuesday on a teleconference conducted following his selection as recipient of the Joe Burke Special Achievement award by the Kansas City Chapter of the Baseball Writers&#8217; Association of America.</p><p>Club officials previously indicated a desire to work out a long-term contract for Greinke, who isn&#8217;t eligible for free agency until after the 2010 season. The club&#8217;s preference is to buy out at least one year of free-agent eligibility.</p><p>&#8220;Zack has been a big part of stabilizing our pitching here in Kansas City,&#8221; general manager Dayton Moore said. &#8220;We look forward to the opportunity for him to continue his career here.&#8221;</p><p>Greinke indicated that his decision might hinge on the Royals&#8217; on-field success.</p><p>&#8220;I love the city,&#8221; he said. &#8220;It&#8217;s just trying to figure out how good we&#8217;re going to be.&#8221;</p><p>Industry analysts suggest the framework for any deal is likely to be the three-year contract that Scott Kazmir signed last May with Tampa Bay. Kazmir gets $28.5 million in guaranteed salary but surrenders his first year of free-agent eligibility.</p><p>Greinke, 25, was 13-10 last season with a 3.47 ERA in 32 starts. It marked his first full season in the rotation since 2005.</p><p>Moore acknowledged that the failure to reach a long-term agreement could prompt the Royals to trade Greinke &#8212; but not at any point in the immediate future.</p><p>&#8220;That&#8217;s jumping ahead a little bit,&#8221; Moore said, &#8220;but that&#8217;s a logical conclusion you can make with any player who approaches free agency.&#8221;</p><p>Greinke is entering his second offseason of arbitration eligibility after making $1.4 million in 2008. His salary for next season seems likely to reach $3 million or more.</p><p>&#8220;It&#8217;s still the club&#8217;s option to do whatever it wants,&#8221; he said. &#8220;I still have a two-year (commitment) with them. That&#8217;s pretty long-term. I don&#8217;t really know how things are going to work out or what&#8217;s going to happen here.&#8221;</p><p><hr class="infobox-hr-separator" /> <div class="infobox"> <strong><span class="infobox-head">AWARDS FOR ROYALS </span></strong><br /> Mike Aviles, Joakim Soria and Zack Greinke are honored. <strong>| D3 </strong></p><p></div>