Looking to return to the playoffs for the first time in four seasons, the Los Angeles Dodgers were one of the more active teams during the 2012 free agency period.
The club saw an opportunity to significantly upgrade the starting rotation, signing Zack Greinke and Hyun-Jin Ryu to complement incumbent ace Clayton Kershaw. The trio helped form one of the better staffs in all of baseball, often leading the league in numerous categories during their time together.
Greinke, in particular, was a model of consistency with the organization, highlighted by a historic 2015 campaign. The right-hander posted an MLB-best 1.66 ERA, 0.84 WHIP and 222 ERA+ in 32 starts that year en route to a second-place finish in National League Cy Young Award voting.
He turned that showing into a jaw-dropping six-year, $206.5 million contract with the rival Arizona Diamondbacks the following offseason. At the time, it set an MLB record for average annual value ($34.42 million).
Though his production waned a bit after departing L.A., Greinke continued pitching at a high level over parts of four seasons with the Diamondbacks before being traded to the Houston Astros this past July.
Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman nevertheless noted that the Diamondbacks significantly outbidding L.A. for Greinke has made his departure more tolerable, via Andy McCullough of The Athletic:
“Obviously, Zack has pitched really well since leaving here,” Friedman said. “That’s not all that surprising. But it made it easier that they were significantly north of us.”
The Dodgers reportedly offered Greinke a six-year deal in the $160 million range before he agreed to sign with the Diamondbacks. The San Francisco Giants are also thought to have made a valiant effort to poach him away from L.A.
The Dodgers were believed to initially be hesitant in extending Greinke a sixth year in their offer but ultimately did so. Despite being outbid, Friedman believed the organization was close to re-signing Greinke, which did cause some heartache at the time.
In three seasons with the Dodgers, Greinke compiled a 51-15 record, 2.30 ERA, 2.97 FIP and 1.03 WHIP across 602.2 innings pitched. During the span, he was selected to the All-Star Game twice, won two Gold Glove Awards and even earned MVP votes for his performance in 2015.
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