Major League Baseball’s Winter Meetings came and went with the Los Angeles Dodgers, a notoriously active organization under president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman, still searching for Zack Greinke’s replacement.
Greinke stunned the baseball world by agreeing to a six-year, $206.5 million contract with the Arizona Diamondbacks.
Arizona stole Greinke from the Dodgers and San Francisco Giants, who were believed to be in a bidding war for his signature.
Greinke was outstanding in his three years with the Dodgers, going 51-15 with a 2.30 ERA, including 28-5 with a 2.04 ERA at Dodger Stadium.
He was particularly outstanding in 2015, finishing 19-3 and led the Majors with a 1.66 ERA, 225 ERA+ and 0.84 WHIP. Replacing Greinke will not be easy, which Dodgers manager Dave Roberts recently discussed in an interview with Jim Rome on CBS Sports Radio:
“I think that I would be crazy to say that we can replace Zack Greinke. We’re obviously going to do everything we can, but I was excited about the opportunity to potentially sign Zack and I heard so many great things about him as a teammate from the other side and obviously he’s an amazing competitor and gets it done. He’s a baseball player. He does everything on a baseball field to help a ballclub win, so it was disappointing. I think that we gave it a good go and that it was kind of an economics. He went for the highest dollar and we wish him well, but we’re definitely working on getting better.”
The Dodgers have reportedly agreed with right-hander Hisashi Iwakuma on a three-year, $45 million deal.
While the 34 year old cannot replace the production of Greinke, Iwakuma further lengthens the depth in Dodgers’ rotation. He was 47-25 with a 3.17 ERA, 3.62 FIP and 1.06 WHIP in his four-year career with the Seattle Mariners.
Iwakuma figures to slot in as the third starter in the rotation. Meanwhile, the Dodgers’ search for a No. 2 starter behind Clayton Kershaw reportedly had the club focusing on Johnny Cueto.
While that may have been true, Cueto agreed to a six-year contract with the San Francisco Giants on Monday.
