There is no denying that Zack Greinke had the best stretch of his career when he was a member of the Los Angeles Dodgers, as in three years with the team he had 51 wins and a 2.30 ERA. Greinke ended his tenure in Los Angeles with a historic 2015 campaign.
He finished second to Chicago Cubs right-hander Jake Arrieta for the National League Cy Young Award, but reached free agency at an opportune time. The Arizona Diamondbacks, Dodgers and San Francisco Giants were among Greinke’s suitors.
While the Diamondbacks didn’t enter the picture until the 23rd hour, they outbid their fellow NL West rivals, and lured Greinke to the desert on a six-year, $206.5 million contract.
Los Angeles reportedly offered the 32-year-old a long-term contract but were not willing to guarantee the same sixth year that the Diamondbacks did.
Arizona’s hefty investment did not pan out this season, with Greinke struggling and spending time on the disabled list due to injury.
He was the subject of trade rumors prior to the waiver deadline at the end of the August, with the Dodgers said to be among the teams to contact the Diamondbacks.
According to Jon Heyman of Today’s Knuckleball, Los Angeles did not expect Arizona to cover the majority of Greinke’s annual salary but nonetheless were turned away:
In fact, they are said by sources to have at one point offered the Diamondbacks a deal where the Dodgers would pay about $25 million of the $34 million-plus AAV on Zack Greinke’s deal in a deadline attempt to get him back in L.A.
That actually seems like a pretty fair offer, but D-backs ownership rejected that, and at one point, D-backs ownership is said to have responded that they didn’t want to pay down a dime, saying that the Dodgers “had plenty of money.”
Coming off a season in which he went 19-3 with a 1.66 ERA, 2.76 FIP and 0.84 WHIP, Greinke regressed in his first year with the Diamondbacks, going 13-7 with a 4.37 ERA, 4.12 FIP and 1.27 WHIP.
Instead of trading for Greinke the Dodgers addressed their starting-pitching need by acquiring Rich Hill from the Oakland Athletics as part of a five-player trade.
Meanwhile, the Diamondbacks are undergoing significant changes. General manager Dave Stewart and manager Chip Hale were fired immediately after the regular season concluded.
