Written by Pablo Figueroa at Sporting Charts
Before the annual MLB Winter Meetings even started at full force, we have seen how most of the prominent free-agent pitchers have been snatched off the open market. David Price signed a monster deal in Boston, Jordan Zimmermann was presented in Detroit, Jeff Samardzija will become San Francisco’s latest reclamation project, and even John Lackey made headlines by signing with the Cubs. And yet, the biggest contract of them all was a bit of a head-scratcher, as it involved arguably the most prominent free agent ace signing with a fringe franchise. Yes, Zack Greinke is going to take his talents to Arizona.
Of course, Greinke was only a free agent due to his opt-out clause after only 3 seasons with the Dodgers. Following 3 straight top-10 Cy Young finishes and fresh off a league-leading 1.66 ERA in 2015, Greinke opting out was a foregone conclusion as he was bound to make even more money despite already being 32 years old. Early offseason reports linked Greinke to seemingly all big-market teams, with usual suspects like the Yankees, Red Sox, Dodgers, and Giants being in the running for his services.
A few weeks passed by and all reports suggested that Greinke’s decision would be a final duel between the Dodgers and Giants, who tried to lure the righty with promises of contention and buckets of money that would secure the futures of many generations of his lineage. And yet, even as the Dodgers were always seen as the most logical landing spot for Greinke, he ended up being the first big casualty of the way the team conducts business following the change in GM after 2014.
After the Dodgers balked on offering Greinke a sixth guaranteed year, a different NFC West rival swooped in to shock the baseball world. With a six-year, $206 million contract, the Diamondbacks signed the former Royal to the largest contract in baseball history in terms of annual salary, believing that he will age well and provide the surging franchise with the boost it needs to become a contender. And yet, the question remains: why Arizona?
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