After a historic 2015 season with the Los Angeles Dodgers, starting pitcher Zack Greinke cashed in with a record-breaking six-year, $206.5 million contract with the Arizona Diamondbacks.
The Dodgers attempted to re-sign Greinke, but with him being on the wrong side of 30 years old, they were only willing to extend a five-year offer. Arizona’s willingness to include a sixth year ultimately helped them land the now five-time All-Star.
While they were excited to add a pitcher of Greinke’s caliber at the time, the Diamondbacks may be regretting it now as just three years into the contract, he is being shopped on the trade market.
The Dodgers have reportedly been in search of a starting pitcher, recently being linked to the big-name starters on the Cleveland Indians such as Corey Kluber.
It doesn’t look like they are an option for a reunion, though, as Zach Buchanan of The Athletic reported the Dodgers are one of 15 teams on Greinke’s no-trade list:
There’s also his 15-team no-trade clause, which according to a baseball source allows him to block deals to the following teams: Orioles, Red Sox, Reds, Rockies, Tigers, Yankees, Athletics, Padres, Giants, Cardinals, Blue Jays, Angels, Dodgers, Twins and Phillies.
This doesn’t mean that it is impossible for a deal to happen, if the Dodgers even have interest, but Greinke would have to waive his no-trade rights to facilitate it.
Greinke is coming off a solid season with Arizona, going 15-11 with a 3.21 ERA, 3.70 FIP and 1.08 WHIP in 33 starts. He struck out 199 and walked 43 in 207.2 innings.
Greinke thrived during his tenure with the Dodgers, pitching to a 2.30 ERA and 1.03 WHIP in three seasons, including his 2015 campaign when he led baseball with a 1.66 ERA.
If the Diamondbacks were to trade Greinke, they would likely need to eat a good portion of his salary or include him with a player like Paul Goldschmidt to do so. With Arizona likely to lose both A.J. Pollock and Patrick Corbin in free agency, they may be headed for a bit of a rebuild.
