Whit Merrifield ‘fired up’ after Kansas City Royals add Zack Greinke, Amir Garrett
The Kansas City Royals’ brain trust had maintained since November that they would look to bolster their pitching staff this offseason, but they also insisted any additions would calculated and had to be the right type of fit.
Neither president of baseball operations Dayton Moore nor general manager J.J. Picollo spouted off particularly bombastic rhetoric about the team’s hopes for potential free-agent acquisitions. If anything, they were tempered in their public comments about the roster they intended to bring into camp.
Just when it looked like the Royals were sure to stand pat as the MLB transaction frenzy started to heat up, they dove in head-first with the trade acquisition of left-handed reliever Amir Garrett followed a few hours later by signing former Cy Young Award winner and six-time All-Star Zack Greinke.
“We’re obviously thrilled to have a future Hall of Famer in the clubhouse where he started his career,” Royals two-time All-Star infielder/outfielder Whit Merrifield said of Greinke. “So we’re excited to get to know him and play behind him. Amir just brings another element to our bullpen. We’re fired up for those two to be on our team.
“We’re just improving our team every day. We’ll see if we’re done. If we are, we’re fired up for the squad we’ve got. If we keep making moves, we’ll trust the front office to make us better.”
Garrett has had periods of dominance during his four years in the majors. From 2018-2020, he posted a 3.60 ERA with 11.5 strikeouts per 9 innings and a 2.6-to-1 strikeout-to-walk ratio. Opponent’s slashed .219/.318/.384 against him.
Greinke, 38, won his lone Cy Young Award while playing for the Royals in 2009 as part of a seven-year run with the club in the majors.
Greinke hasn’t been with the organization since 2010, but he still ranks among the franchise all-time leaders in starts (ninth, 169), strikeouts (eighth, 931) and fewest walks per 9 innings (third, 2.27) among other categories.
During his 18 years in the majors, Greinke has compiled a record of 219-132 with a 3.41 ERA, 2,809 strikeouts, a 3.95-to-1 strikeout-to-walk ratio and a 1.16 WHIP in 3,110 innings.
“These guys know how to pitch in the big leagues,” Royals seven-time All-Star catcher Salvador Perez said of the additions. “They’re veterans with a lot of experience. You know Greinke is one of the best pitchers in the game. So we’re happy to have these two guys here.”
Perez, who entered the Royals’ organization as a teenager in 2006, said he thought he might have caught a few bullpen sessions of Greinke’s prior to his final season with the club in 2010. He didn’t know Greinke well from that previous stint, but he’d faced Greinke as a hitter.
“Curveball, slider, changeup, split-finger, two-seamer, four-seamer, everything,” Perez said of Greinke. “He knows how to pitch. He’s a veteran guy. … When you’ve got a Cy Young on the mound, you’ve always excited to catch that guy.”
Greinke’s 219 career wins are second most among active pitchers behind Justin Verlander (226). He won two ERA titles in his career, including his Cy Young Award-winning season in 2009, (2.16 ERA, 55 earned runs in 229 1/3 innings).
Greinke is one of three pitchers in major-league history with at least six Gold Glove Awards and six All-Star appearances, having joined Greg Maddux and Bob Gibson in that exclusive club.
“We’re really excited about it,” Royals starting pitcher Brad Keller said. “Greinke is arguably a Hall of Famer right now. It’s going to be awesome to play with him and see him come in here and do his work and kind of follow after his footsteps. I’ve heard unbelievable things about him. I’m really excited. Same thing with Amir. You see what he does on the field. He’s nasty.
“Obviously, we’re going to miss Mike [Minor]. Mike was a great clubhouse guy and a great guy in general. I think everybody’s excited about the two moves we made (Wednesday).”
Keller had one year in the Arizona Diamondbacks organization that overlapped with Greinke’s tenure with the major-league club there. The two never met, but Keller has certainly watched him intently from afar.
“He’s done it for as long as he’s done it for a reason,” Keller said. “He’s really good at what he does. He’s got a great routine. I think we’re all excited just to learn from him. Obviously, He’s going to be the leader of this staff. Experience alone throws him at the top. It’s going to be exciting. I think everybody’s excited about it.”
This story was originally published March 17, 2022 at 1:36 PM.
