Given that Zack Greinke and David Price entered free agency this offseason as the two best starting pitchers available, it was unsurprising to see how the process unfolded for each of them.
Price was first to come off the board, agreeing to a seven-year, $217 million contract with the Boston Red Sox.
The deal surpassed Clayton Kershaw’s $215 million contract by $2 million for the richest ever given to a starting pitcher.
From there, it was reported Greinke wished to sign a contract with a higher average annual value than what Price received.
In a bidding war between the Dodgers and San Francisco Giants, it was San Francisco who reportedly was willing to give Greinke the higher annual average.
The Arizona Diamondbacks entered the picture on Friday and appeared to have reached an agreement with Greinke, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports:
Sources: Greinke in agreement with #DBacks, pending physical.
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) December 5, 2015
Greinke is set to join the Diamondbacks on a six-year deal, per Jon Heyman of CBS Sports:
greinke gets 6 yr dea with dbacks
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeymanCBS) December 5, 2015
The value of Greinke’s contract with the Diamondbacks is $206.5 million, according to Nick Piecoro of AZcentral.com:
I'm told Greinke's deal is for six years and $206.5M.
— Nick Piecoro (@nickpiecoro) December 5, 2015
The Dodgers never got comfortable with guaranteeing the 32-year-old Greinke a sixth year, via Bill Shaikin of the LA Times:
I'm told Dodgers never got comfortable with guaranteed 6th year to Greinke.
— Bill Shaikin (@BillShaikin) December 5, 2015
Greinke went 19-3 last season, with MLB-bests 1.66 ERA, 225 ERA+ and 0.84 WHIP. He was named the National League’s Most Outstanding Pitcher by his peers and won a second consecutive Gold Glove Award.
He reached free agency by opting out of the remaining three years and $71 million on a contract signed with the Dodgers in December 2012. After exercising the opt-out clause, Greinke then declined the club’s one-year, $15.8 million qualifying offer.
Re-signing Greinke was reported as being the Dodgers’ top priority this winter. Part owner Magic Johnson stated as much when speaking from the Dave Roberts’ introductory press conference on Tuesday.
Greinke in three seasons with the Dodgers was 51-15 with a 2.30 ERA. He’s a lifetime 6-2 with a 3.34 ERA and 1.31 WHIP over 10 starts at Chase Field. In losing Greinke the Dodgers will receive a compensatory pick in the 2016 MLB draft.
