Jon Heyman reports that Zack Greinke will exercise the opt-out clause in his contract. Kind of a no-brainer given the season he just had.
The deal would’ve paid him $71 million over the next three years or an average of $23 million a year. That’s a few million below what Jon Lester, Clayton Kershaw, Justin Verlander and some other pitchers make a year, but it’s likewise a low total guarantee for a guy who just put up a season in which he went 19-3 with a 1.66 ERA and will finish someplace in the top three of the Cy Young voting. By opting out, Greinke, who turns 32 next week, will guarantee himself anywhere from $125-150 million, one assumes.
Who will give it to him? Many will try, one assumes, as starting pitchers as elite, durable and consistent as Greinke don’t come along too often. Indeed, he has averaged 205 innings a year since returning to full-time starting duties in 2008, and that number would’ve been higher if not for that freak collar bone injury he got when Carlos Quentin charged the mound on him back in 2013.
One has to assume, however, that the Dodgers are the favorites. Greinke, according to Heyman, likes Los Angeles and enjoyed this season and the NL West parks are a pretty good place for any pitcher. Financially speaking, the Dodgers payroll, while high, will not be significantly higher on a per annum basis if they sign Greinke. They’re already committing $23 million a year to him, after all.
Oh, and their rotation is already thin as hell after him and Kershaw as it is, so they’re gonna want to keep him around, no?
