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Zack Greinke is deciding between the Dodgers and Giants
Wednesday’s Say Hey, Baseball includes the final decision for Zack Greinke, David Price’s huge new contract and Johnny Cueto’s suitors.
Photo by Stephen Dunn/Getty Images
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Jordan Zimmermann signed over the weekend, and David Price agreed to a $217 million contract with the Red Sox on Tuesday. That leaves Zack Greinke and Johnny Cueto as the major arms available on free agency this offseason, and if recent reports from Ken Rosenthal and company are to be believed, Greinke won’t be around for much longer. He’s deciding between a return to his former team, the Dodgers, and their rivals, the Giants, and his decision could come soon.
Greinke vs. Price for the top free agent pitcher available is a battle with no clear winner -- Greinke is older, but expected to age a little better, and there is going to be little difference in their contracts from the sounds of the numbers being tossed about. Price received a $31 million average annual value, so Greinke reportedly is aiming for $31.5 to $32 million over five or six years instead of Price’s seven.
Losing Greinke would be a significant blow to the Dodgers, especially with Price already off the market, and even more so when you consider their NL West rivals would be benefiting from the move twice. Dodgers’ management isn’t acting as if that’s the case, though. It would also be an introduction of the Giants as a major financial force in the game: San Francisco hasn’t been cheap up until this point, but they haven’t been considered the kind of team that could dish out $30 million or more per year to a single player, either. It’s just one more reminder, too, that if you think these dollar values are absurd, wait until you see what pitchers are signing for by the time Greinke’s and Price’s contracts are ending.
- David Price is no half-measure for the Red Sox, who decided they needed an ace and went all out to acquire him. It's a ton of money, but the Sox have tons, plural, of it, and they still have their prospects, too.
- They might get a couple more, too, as they're considering trading one of their six big-league starters to make room for Price. It's that, or just move Joe Kelly to the bullpen.
- The Red Sox are no longer involved in the Johnny Cueto bidding, but the Dodgers, Cubs and Giants are all still talking to him. Someone is going to be left without a shiny new ace, because Greinke and Cueto are the only ones still available.
- Not everyone wants the Giants to try for Cueto, though.
- Ben Zobrist's asking price is reportedly four years for $60 million. That might seem like a lot for a player already in his mid-30s, however, Zobrist is still great and every other team in the game wants him, so someone will pay up.
- The Blue Jays are running the risk of going right back to where they came from before their 2015 trade deadline.
- The Padres introduced new uniforms on Tuesday, including a brand new brown and gold home alternate design. They also hinted that, for 2017, they might just make brown and gold their primary color scheme again.
- The Yankees hand out no-trade clauses to basically every major free agent they sign.
- The Diamondbacks, maybe realizing they don't have the money to play big free agent spender, are talking to the Braves about Shelby Miller.
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