Analytics writer makes case for reunion between Zack Greinke and Kansas City Royals
When Major League Baseball and the players union agree on a new collective bargaining agreement, it’s going to be a frenzied sprint toward the start of spring training.
Games in the Cactus and Grapefruit leagues already have been delayed, but the bigger issue will be with team rosters.
As USA Today noted, there are 197 unsigned arbitration-eligible players, and nearly 300 unsigned free agents.
When labor peace is achieved, there will be a chaotic period with players trying to get deals done and others trying to find a team.
Dan Szymborski, a writer at the analytics site FanGraphs, took a fun look at matching free-agent pitchers with teams. There was one rule: the pairings had to make at least some sense.
Szymborski thinks a reunion between pitcher Zack Greinke, 38, and the team that drafted him in 2002 (the Royals) could be a good thing. Terms of this proposed deal for Greinke: $10 million for one year.
“It’s been a long road for Greinke, who’s gone from top prospect to a player who almost left baseball due to anxiety to superstar pitcher to veteran eephus tosser,” he wrote. “There’s something satisfying about him completing the journey where it all began, in a very different place in his life than when he started. The initial departure from Kansas City due to Greinke’s desire to play for a contending team was a little bumpy, but his first return in 2012 was warmly received by both sides. The Royals’ lineup isn’t particularly young, but the non-Mike Minor parts of the rotation are, and who would be a better mentor than Greinke? He’s been through it all before, after all.
“And hey, if his neck isn’t nagging, he might be a solid mid-rotation starter for the team as well (though I’m not as bullish as ZiPS is). Greinke to Kansas City would be fun, and baseball needs more fun right now.”
Greinke, who had a 4.16 ERA in 30 starts with 6.3 strikeouts per nine innings for the Astros last season, had a public split with the Royals. Wanting to pitch for a team that had a shot at the postseason, Greinke asked to be traded following the 2010 season.
Dayton Moore, who was the Royals general manager at the time, made a deal with the Brewers that had a profound impact on Kansas City’s future. Greinke and Yuniesky Betancourt went to the Brewers for Lorenzo Cain, Alcides Escobar, Jeremy Jeffress and Jake Odorizzi.
“A big part of my heart will always pull for Zack,” Moore said after the trade was announced. “What he overcame, the success he had here, to the point it’s not easy to make these types of deals. You would prefer to have him here and sign him long-term but it just wasn’t something we could do.”
Perhaps that heart for Greinke will mean a return to Kansas City this season.
This story was originally published February 23, 2022 at 9:47 AM.
