Tag: Zack Greinke

Zack Greinke Will Return to Mound vs. Nationals on Wednesday

The Los Angeles Dodgers have been without starting pitcher Zack Greinke for over a month with a broken collarbone, but the 29-year-old ace will return to the mound on Wednesday against the Washington Nationals. 

The team’s official Twitter account confirmed the news on Tuesday afternoon:

Greinke hasn’t pitched since April 11, when he and San Diego Padres outfielder Carlos Quentin grabbed headlines in the sixth inning. Pitching to Quentin on a 3-2 count, Greinke plunked Quentin in the right shoulder, and the outfielder charged the mound in what led to a bench-clearing brawl between the two clubs. 

Greinke broke his collarbone in the process, taking on the charging Quentin with his left (non-throwing) shoulder. 

The news couldn’t come at a better time for Dodgers fans.   

L.A. was 6-3 at the completion of the April 11 win over San Diego, but since then injuries and poor play have started to mount. The Dodgers are just 9-19 since that game, and will boast a meager 15-22 record heading into Tuesday night’s showdown with the Nationals.

The team also lost eight straight games to open up the month of May before finally breaking through against the Miami Marlins on Saturday. 

Greinke will hopefully provide a spark that has clearly been missing in the rotation since he has been sidelined with injury. Clayton Kershaw and Hyun-Jin Ryu have been bright spots so far (seven wins between the pair) but the rest of the rotation has been lacking, lowlighted by Josh Beckett’s winless start (0-5). 

The former Kansas City Royals and Milwaukee Brewers ace was 1-0 with a 1.59 ERA at the time of the injury and holds career marks of 92-78 and a 3.75 ERA. He’ll face a tough test on Wednesday night when the Nats are in town for the final matchup of a three-game set. 

Greinke signed a massive six-year deal with the team in the winter that could be worth up to $158 million if he meets all the incentives (h/t Los Angeles Times).

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com


Can the LA Dodgers Overcome the Loss of Greinke, Capuano, and Billingsley?

Mothers are always right.

Fighting solves nothing and unfortunately for the Los Angeles Dodgers, they are learning that the hard way. 

Although Carlos Quentin is already slated to return to the San Diego Padres lineup following his suspension for charging Dodgers pitcher Zack Greinke, the Dodgers are still reeling from the affects.  Greinke broke his collarbone in a collision with Quentin and is currently on the 15-day disabled list.

As if the loss of Greinke wasn’t bad enough, fellow starter Chris Capuano was placed on the 15-day disabled list on Wednesday, and Major League Baseball reported that his injuries were also a result of the bench-clearing brawl with the Dads.

Apparently things really do happen in threes…hours ago, news broke that Dodgers starter Chad Billingsley will require Tommy John surgery and miss the rest of the season.

However, Dodgers fans should not be cancelling October quite yet.  Although it is true that April has been disappointing at the very least, the key word here is APRIL. 

Starter Ted Lilly is expected to return to the rotation next week.  Although he hasn’t pitched a game since last May, Lilly brings a veteran presence to the mound…something that the Dodgers will miss greatly in the series to come. 

The loss of Zack, Cap and Bill leaves only Clayton Kershaw and Josh Beckett as the only MLB veterans in the rotation as of today.  Rookie Stephen Fife and Korean newcomer Hyun-Jin Ryu make up the rest of the rotation while they await the return of veteran Ted Lilly.

Capuano may even find himself out of a starting job, dependent on the performance of Ted Lilly.  In essence, the Dodgers may only be losing two starters, but Lilly’s performance is impossible to predict due to his extended absence from baseball. 

April could not get much worse for the Dodgers.  Their offense has failed to show up, producing only 3.0 runs per game in their first 18 contests.  With one of the most feared lineups in baseball, the Dodgers are bound to begin to produce offensively. 

The Dodgers bullpen is also reassuring, posting a modest 3.67 ERA to start the season, and a 3.72 team ERA. 

Clayton Kershaw has been exactly what Dodgers fans expect.  With a 1.88 ERA in four starts, Kershaw is the least of their worries.  Beckett and Ryu have been average thus far, though neither are consistently dominant.

Take a deep breath, Dodgers fans.  Although the loss of the three starters is certainly a painful blow, it is also certainly not a fatal one.  Despite the rough April that the team has endured, they find themselves only two games below .500.  

The Boys in Blue are still a serious playoff contender, regardless of their injuries.  Hopefully, the team is just getting their adversity out of the way now so that they can come together later in the season.

After all, no one wins a championship because they had a stellar April. 

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com


Zack Greinke Injury Proves One Thing: LA Dodgers Are True Media Darlings

Matt Kemp’s sluggish start is suddenly the least of the Los Angeles Dodgers‘ concerns.

That’s because Zack Greinke fractured his collarbone in a donnybrook that was triggered when Carlos Quentin charged the mound after being plunked in the shoulder by a fastball. You might’ve heard, as the incident’s getting a bit of media coverage.

Whether the injury occurred in the initial collision between the two or at the bottom of the pile of humanity that formed on top of them is immaterial. Even a shameless Dodger basher must admit the San Diego Padres‘ slugger owns the blame for both and rightfully so. 

But the larger media reaction—more or less summarized by this gem—has been incredible from one angle and predictable from another.

It’s been incredible because there seems to be a groundswell behind the idea that Quentin deserved a longer suspension than the eight games he got and is appealing (a similar suspension to those received by MLB‘s recent hard chargers).

That would make sense if Carlos did something totally unreasonable like charging the mound when there was obviously no intent (say, if he were hit with a curve ball) or knocked Greinke to the ground then stomped him out.

In those scenarios, the Stanford alum would’ve actually crossed a line by baseball standards.

In this case, though, I don’t see it.

That’s not to say the Dodgers’ No. 2 starter was definitely throwing at Quentin. It’s to say that nothing rules out the possibility.

Many people keep pointing to the game context as proof that Greinke couldn’t have been targeting a guy he’d already hit twice in his career. LA was up by one run and the count was 3-2 on the Padres’ No. 3 hitter who was leading off the sixth inning…

That’s it.

For some reason, nobody would ever throw at a batter in that situation.

Forget the history between the two players.

As Jayson Stark points out, Greinke‘s hit Quentin about once every 10 times the two have faced each other since 2008. In that same span, he’s hit a batter not named Carlos Quentin once every 225 plate appearances.

Forget that it’s April and there are still over 150 games to play. Yes, an April win counts as much as a September win, but let’s not be naive.

Forget that Zack Greinke is a player who’s gone on record implying that winning isn’t the most important thing to him. Forget that the Friars’ lineup falls off a cliff after Quentin so you wouldn’t be throwing a strike to the opposition’s most dangerous hitter when he’s sitting in full count in a one-run game. Which means if Greinke doesn’t think the hitter would go fishing and has a beef with him, dousing him might be an entirely attractive option.

Forget that Greinke is one of the premier arms in the game. One who probably wouldn’t be too concerned about pitching through a leadoff baserunner regardless of what was waiting in the wings. Infinitely less so when those hitters are Yonder Alonso, Jedd Gyorko and Nick Hundley.

Forget all of that because nobody would throw at the leadoff hitter in the sixth inning of a one-run game. Ever.

That seems like a foolish argument to me.

Again, that’s not to say the right-hander was clearly throwing at Quentin or even that Carlos behaved reasonably.

To be honest, that pitch looked like Greinke pulled his fastball too much and it tailed back on him. Happens all the time.

Furthermore, the Padre is notorious for hanging over the plate and lunging into pitches, then not trying to avoid the HBP when the offering bores inside. When you get pegged as often as he does (check the second subheading here), you probably shouldn’t be headed to the mound except under the most explicit of circumstances.

And given the game context, it is unlikely that there was intent behind the fastball.

Not out of the question for the reasons stated, but unless the righty sincerely and viscerally dislikes Quentin, it would be a strange spot to throw at someone.

However, melees over misunderstandings aren’t exactly rare.

Plus you have to consider that (A) batters aren’t thrilled about getting pelted around the shoulders even when it’s purely accidental and (B) Greinke wasn’t exactly contrite afterwards. So let’s not pretend this is an obscene loss of composure.

As for the injury itself, that’s just bad luck. It’s not like Carlos body-slammed his prey or jump kicked him or anything else that would be considered excessive in a baseball brawl. He crashed into Greinke and they went to the ground.

Pretty standard.

Of course, Greinke‘s contract and the aura surrounding the Bums this season are very much nonstandard.

The hurler inked the largest contract ever given to a right-hander over the offseason in one of a flurry of flashy moves made by Los Doyers. Then there’s the matter of the mega-deal for broadcasting rights the franchise signed with Time Warner.

Consequently, it’s yawn-inducing that Magic Johnson’s colleague at ESPN (Stark) would write something like: “The Dodgers’ beautiful…2013 season can’t ever be the same.” It is likewise predictable that so many are parroting John Paul Morosi’s sentiment (via FOX Sports): “It was obvious to everyone else that Greinke‘s pitch wasn’t on purpose.”

Or that so many seem to be advocating harsher punishment because of the result—a serious injury to an excellent player and a headline generator.

When you combine a new ownership group with a lovable front man (who’s also employed by the industry’s 800-pound gorilla), a $7 billion infusion of capital, a roster of all-star names and a major media market, well, it’s no surprise that you get most-favored-franchise status.

Granted, “unsurprising” and “foolish” are not mutually exclusive adjectives.

Carlos Quentin got precisely what he deserved. He got a stiff-but-reasonable penalty that was in keeping with precedent because what he did wasn’t extraordinary, even if the cost of the incident was.

That doesn’t make for a sensational story, but the truth can be uncooperative.

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com


Carlos Quentin: Was 8-Game Suspension and Fine the Appropriate Punishment?

Joe Garagiola Jr., senior vice president of standards and on-field operations for Major League Baseball, announced the punishments for both Carlos Quentin and Jerry Hairston Jr. today for their participation in Thursday night’s bench-clearing brawl in San Diego that left Dodger co-ace Zack Greinke with a broken collarbone. 

Quentin, who initiated the fight, will receive an eight-game suspension and fine, while Hairston Jr. will receive a one-day suspension and fine for their roles in the incident.  Both players are looking to appeal their suspensions; however, both could realistically play in a three-game series between the Padres and Dodgers starting this Monday in Los Angeles.

Don Mattingly, Matt Kemp, Jerry Hairston Jr. and the entire Dodger organization have every right in the world to be mad at the outcome of brawl, but did Quentin’s punishment fit the crime?

Look, it’s never easy losing a player to injury, especially when the player is your newly acquired staff co-ace that was expected to start 33 games this season.  And sure, it’s unfortunate that Greinke broke his collarbone in the event, an injury that could potentially keep him out from one to three months, but this is baseball. Accidents happen, as unfortunate as they can be sometimes.

I’m not defending Quentin and his actions, but Greinke didn’t look very apologetic after he hit Quentin, and whatever words came out of his mouth immediately after didn’t look like words of remorse to me. 

And though these two have had a history of beanballs in the past, in Quentin’s defense, it must be frustrating to be hit by the same pitcher time and time again (this was Greinke‘s third plunking of Quentin). 

Quentin is an emotional guy; I think we all saw that last night in his reaction to being hit.  Does that justify his actions?  Of course not, but these guys are young and passionate and sometimes emotions can get the best of you. 

So does Quentin deserve to be suspended as long as Greinke is on the disabled list? 

I don’t think so.  Eight games and a fine is fair, and I’m sure there will be further retaliation at some point during the Padres/Dodgers series this coming Monday.  However, regardless of what happens, we need to remember that this is a rivalry that will always have bad blood, high emotions and heated exchanges as long these two teams play.  That’s what makes divisional rivalries so fun and exciting.

So Dodger fans, I’m very sorry that Greinke went down, but I guess the ball is now in your court.  Let’s see what happens next; it should be fun.

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com


Carlos Quentin Will Be Suspended 8 Games for Charging Zack Greinke

Carlos Quentin won’t be suspended as long as Dodgers manager Don Mattingly had hoped, but Major League Baseball will reportedly be handing down a stiff punishment for the San Diego Padres outfielder.

 

UPDATE: Friday, April 12, at 9:53 p.m. ET by Ian Hanford

According to MLB‘s Public Relations department, Quentin’s eight-game suspension is official although he does plan to appeal:

 

—End of update—

 

According to Jeff Passan of Yahoo! Sports, Quentin will be suspended eight games for charging at Zack Greinke on Thursday night:

Quentin’s suspension stems from a bench-clearing brawl in the Padres’ 3-2 loss to their division rivals. Standing at the plate with the count in his favor, Quentin was pegged by a Greinke fastball. Quentin subsequently charged the mound on the Dodgers ace, leading to Greinke suffering a fractured left collarbone after trying to brace his body against the charging outfielder. 

After the game, the entire Dodgers organization made their thoughts clear about Quentin. Star outfielder Matt Kemp and Quentin had to be separated by police after getting in a face-to-face altercation outside Petco Park. 

Angered at the injury of his prized hurler, Mattingly said that Quentin should face a long suspension. 

“[Quentin] should not play a game until Greinke can pitch,” said Mattingly (per Hardball Talk). “If he plays before Greinke, something is wrong. Nothing happens if that guy goes to first base.”

According to the Los Angeles Times, Greinke will be out eight weeks after undergoing surgery on his collarbone. The 29-year-old right-hander signed a six-year, $147 million contract with the Dodgers this offseason and was expected to co-anchor the staff in 2013 along with Clayton Kershaw, a fellow Cy Young Award winner.

Even in the optimistic eight-week time frame, this collarbone injury will sideline Greinke until at least sometime in June.

As for Quentin, the suspension keeps him out just long enough to avoid San Diego’s next matchup with Los Angeles. The two sides start a three-game series at Dodger Stadium on Monday, April 15, which would be right in the middle of Quentin’s absence.

Like all MLB suspensions, Quentin will have the right to dispute his eight-game ban. There is no word at this time whether he plans on filing an appeal.

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com


Analysis of Zack Greinke’s First Start with the L.A. Dodgers

Friday night was the much-anticipated debut of Zack Greinke in Dodger blue, and it went very well.  He pitched 6.1 strong innings, striking out six and allowing just two hits without conceding any walks.

Greinke dominated a Pittsburgh Pirates lineup that has some high-end talent in it, led by last year’s third-place finisher in the NL MVP race, Andrew McCutchen, who was held to just one hit.

There was some trepidation on the part of the Dodgers heading into the outing because Greinke had been struggling with some elbow inflammation during spring training.  Indeed, he made only 92 pitches, despite the fact that he was cruising through the game.

He was as sharp as can be expected in his first start, locating his fastball well and generally staying around the strike zone.  He began the game with his fastball velocity hovering around 91 or 92 and mixed in his mid-70s curveball effectively.  His combination of pitches enabled him to keep the Pirates off-balance all game.

He was efficient from the get-go, making just nine pitches in the first inning and getting five of his first seven outs on ground balls before picking up his first strikeout.  He would then go on to strike out four in a row, though, as he settled in.  His fastball picked up some late life, and he was able to effectively begin to mix in his changeup.

As the game went on, he moved his fastball in and out and varied his pitches well on his way to his six strikeouts.

He got enough support from his offense to win the game, as an Andre Ethier home run propelled the Dodgers to a lead they would never relinquish, and the initial one-run cushion was all Greinke would need.

This was a very encouraging start for Greinke and the Dodgers, and it would have been even if there hadn’t been lingering injury concerns.  As it is, he demonstrated why FanGraphs has him as the eighth-most valuable pitcher over the last three seasons.

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com


Would a Compromised Zack Greinke Derail the Dodgers’ Lofty Goals for 2013?

If there’s a team in Major League Baseball that’s well-equipped to deal with an injury to a starting pitcher, it’s the Los Angeles Dodgers.

But that doesn’t mean they should have no worries about the news regarding Zack Greinke. They have big plans for 2013, and he’s a big part of said plans. Now it sounds like he may be a faulty part.

Though Greinke recently had to leave camp to get his right elbow checked out by the club’s physician, the word on Monday was that the damage wasn’t serious. Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times reported that the diagnosis was mere inflammation and that Greinke was treated accordingly.

But that was then. This is now, and the word now is much less encouraging.

Here’s Dylan Hernandez of the Los Angeles Times:

Dodgers manager Don Mattingly had told Shaikin that he expected Greinke to be ready for an April 2 assignment against the San Francisco Giants. In addition to throwing water on that idea, Greinke is also refusing to play at optimism.

“I don’t know. I don’t know how it’s supposed to feel,” he said when asked how his elbow felt, according to Hernandez. “I haven’t talked to the trainers yet. We’ll see. I don’t think I should be telling you too much information about what’s going on. Leave it up to them to tell you that stuff.”

No real surprise here. Honesty, thy name is Zack Greinke!

The Dodgers are surely going to proceed with utmost caution to protect their $147 million investment, as bad elbows have been known to become worse. If there’s a bright side, however, it’s that having to rough it without Greinke wouldn’t make them a dead team walking.

Shaikin noted that the Dodgers won’t need a full starting rotation until two weeks into the regular season, meaning they can give Greinke extra rest before they’ll be missing him.

And even then, the Dodgers wouldn’t necessarily be missing him right away. They have the personnel to cover for him for an extended period of time if it comes to that.

There were rumors during the winter that the Dodgers were going to trade one of their surplus starting pitchers, but no deal materialized and the club went into spring training with eight starting pitchers under contract. So far, Greinke‘s the only one who has been compromised.

Assuming Chad Billingsley‘s right elbow is all clear—he told Mark Saxon of ESPNLosAngeles.com last week that he’s feeling good—following his issues last year, the Dodgers are going to have him, Josh Beckett and Ryu Hyun-Jin in their starting rotation after Clayton Kershaw. Setting that bunch aside, the Dodgers are left with three guys they can call on to fill in for Greinke.

Contestant No. 1 is probably veteran left-hander Chris Capuano. He had a 3.72 ERA in 198.1 innings pitched last season and was particularly effective at Dodger Stadium with a 3.19 ERA. He’s not a frontline pitcher, but any hurler who can post an ERA in the 3.00s over roughly 200 innings is a fine addition to the back end of any rotation.

Contestant No. 2 is probably Aaron Harang. His starts were adventurous in 2012 thanks to 4.3 BB/9, but he managed to keep his ERA in the 3.60 range for a second straight season. He had only four starts that lasted fewer than five innings in 2012, a very acceptable rate for a back-end starter.

Then there’s Ted Lilly, who is the wild card among the Dodgers’ eight starting pitchers after having left-shoulder surgery in September. He hasn’t pitched since last May, but the early returns in camp are of the positive variety.

“He hasn’t been able to log innings on the field, but the ball’s coming out good,” said Mattingly on Sunday, via Ken Gurnick of MLB.com. “When you see Teddy at 88, 89 [mph], he’s feeling good. He’s healthy and he’s bouncing back.”

If Lilly’s shoulder holds for the rest of spring training—knock on wood—indications are that he’ll be put in the starting rotation ahead of Capuano and Harang, with the reason being that Lilly’s last major league appearance came over 10 years ago in 2002.

The Dodgers would be in solid hands if Lilly were to maintain his health as a starter. He generally features good control, and his fly-ball style of pitching makes him a good fit for Dodger Stadium’s cavernous dimensions.

Whether it’s Capuano, Harang or Lilly that would be filling in for Greinke, the Dodgers would still be able to look forward to solid starting pitching. Remember, Dodgers starters ranked third in baseball in ERA last year (see FanGraphs). When the brass added Greinke and Ryu, a weakness wasn’t being fixed. A strength was being augmented.

More likely, this is a club that’s going to live or die by its offense, which must improve on its poor showing last season.

And it should. There are plenty of question marks surrounding the Dodgers offense—the health of Carl Crawford and Matt Kemp, Adrian Gonzalez’s power, Andre Ethier’s production against southpaws—but a lineup with as many big names as theirs can only be so bad.

This year’s offense surely won’t be worse than last year’s offense, which ranked 26th in baseball in runs scored. A transformation into the 1927 Yankees may not be in the cards, but an emergence from the depths sure is.

The Dodgers managed to win 86 games with very good starting pitching and a not-so-good offense last year. With or without Greinke, they’re in line to win more games if their starting pitching holds steady and their offense improves. Taking him out of the equation thus wouldn’t result in the team as a whole being immediately removed from the postseason equation.

But there’s the rub (apologies for a second Shakespeare reference). Making the postseason would be nice, but these Dodgers are looking to make it there and then to the World Series. It’s going to be more difficult for them to do so if they don’t have a healthy Greinke.

Greinke is not a Chris Carpenter-esque postseason hero, as he only has three postseason starts to his name that come with a 6.48 ERA. But an ace is an ace is an ace. That’s what the Dodgers paid $147 million for when they signed Greinke, and their faith in him was not misplaced.

Is Greinke ever going to get back to his Cy Young form from the 2009 season, when he won 16 games for a bad Kansas City Royals team with a 2.16 ERA? That’s unlikely, but this is still a guy who’s pitched over 200 innings in four of the last five seasons with a 3.16 FIP (Fielding Independent Pitching) over the last three seasons that ranks eighth among qualified starters (FanGraphs). This is also a guy who pitched at least seven innings and gave up two runs or fewer in 15 of his 34 starts last year.

Aces are a good thing to have in October, and the Dodgers will have two very good ones if Kershaw and Greinke are both healthy and ready to go. They have the talent to be what Tim Lincecum and Matt Cain were to the 2010 San Francisco Giants, a tantalizing prospect indeed.

This is a prospect that hinges on Greinke‘s right elbow surviving the season, and right now he doesn’t want anybody thinking that his elbow isn’t a question mark. That’s the Dodgers’ cue not to run him out to the mound until he can swear that he’s good.

“Good enough” shouldn’t be good enough for the Dodgers. They have hopes and dreams to watch out for. Not to mention a $147 million investment.

To this end, the Dodgers can trust Greinke to be honest about his elbow. He’s proved that he’s honest about anything, a fine trait.

Now the Dodgers must hope that Greinke can prove that he’s a quick healer too.

 

Note: Stats courtesy of Baseball-Reference.com unless otherwise noted.

 

If you want to talk baseball, hit me up on Twitter. 

Follow zachrymer on Twitter

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com


How Zack Greinke Signing with the Rangers Would Have Changed MLB’s Offseason

The Dodgers’ signing of Zack Greinke to a six-year, $147 million deal was one of the offseason’s biggest moves, but it almost didn’t happen.

It seems the Rangers had a real chance to sign Greinke, as he gave them a chance to beat the Dodgers’ offer, but the team inevitably turned down his proposal (h/t Jon Heyman of CBSSports). 

The biggest sticking point appears to have been the Rangers’ unwillingness to give Greinke a three-year opt out clause, coupled with his preference to play in the National League.

While it is all speculation at this point, here is a look at how the offseason could have played out had the Rangers been the ones who signed Greinke.

 

1. Dodgers acquire James Shields from Rays for Andre Ethier

Back in late October, the Dodgers identified Rays right-hander James Shields as their No. 1 target with the offseason kicking off (h/t Mark Saxon of ESPN).

The two sides never came to terms, but had the Dodgers missed out on Greinke they likely would have made every effort to land Shields as their No. 2 starter.

Lacking in impact minor league bats in the Wil Myers mold, the Dodgers would have had to surrender a big league bat, and there were talks off and on of Ethier being available. 

Signed to a five-year, $85 million extension last offseason, Ethier would be a significant investment for the Rays, but one that could reap immediate rewards.

 

2. Dodgers re-sign Shane Victorino to a one-year, $10 million deal

Shortly after being traded to the Dodgers at the deadline last season, Victorino made it known that he would love to stay in LA beyond the 2012 season with free agency looming (h/t ESPN).

The team let him walk, and he wound up signing a three-year, $39 million contract with the Red Sox in what may well have been an over-spend.

With Ethier gone, the Dodgers would need a stop gap option in right field, and since he enjoyed his time in Los Angeles, the team may have been willing to get him cheaper.

A one-year, $10 million deal may have been possible, and it would have helped bridge the gap to top prospect Yasiel Puig.

 

3. Red Sox re-sign Cody Ross to a three-year, $30 million deal

After settling on a one-year, $3 million deal with the Red Sox last offseason, Ross did a nice job boosting his stock with 22 home runs and 81 RBI last season.

Had the Red Sox not made the move to sign Victorino, re-signing Ross may have been their best option to fill the void in right field.

He wound up signing a three-year, $26 million deal with the Diamondbacks and will be replacing Justin Upton in right field.

The Diamondbacks could have gone without signing him, turning the starting job over to Gerardo Parra instead and saving some money in the process.

 

4. Royals sign Kyle Lohse to a four-year, $56 million deal

Despite turning in a career-year last season in going 16-3 with a 2.86 ERA as the ace of the Cardinals’ staff, Lohse has been unable to find a job this offseason in free agency.

After turning down a qualifying offer from the Cardinals to kick off the offseason, Lohse has draft pick compensation tied to him this offseason, and teams have been unwilling to surrender their first round pick to sign him.

The Royals were clearly seeking a frontline starter when the offseason began, and had Shields wound up with the Dodgers the team may very well have turned their attention to Lohse.

Lohse made $11.875 million last season, so giving him a four-year deal at $14 million annually would still be decent money but likely not enough to price the Royals out of the market.

 

5. Rangers trade Martin Perez to the Cubs for Alfonso Soriano

Even if they had added Greinke, the Rangers still would have been looking to improve their offense after losing Josh Hamilton, Michael Young and Mike Napoli.

With Greinke in the rotation, top pitching prospect Martin Perez would be the odd-man out in the rotation and could have been used as trade bait for the team to improve offensively.

The Cubs’ biggest need continues to be improving pitching depth, and Perez would give them a solid young arm with some upside. With the Cubs willing to take on a good chunk of Soriano’s salary, the Rangers could get two seasons of Soriano at a bargain.

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com


Zack Greinke Admits Money Was Reason He Signed with LA Dodgers

People will always love baseball, but thanks to Los Angeles Dodgers right-hander Zack Greinke, it is now clear that any sense of loyalty in the game is dead.

Speaking to Jon Heyman of CBS Sports, Greinke admitted that the sole reason he signed with the Dodgers was money. He explained his reasoning:

It’s obviously the No. 1 thing. I could play for the worst team if they paid the most. … If the last-place team offers $200 million and the first-place team offers $10, I’m going to go for the $200-million no matter what team it was.

It’s hard to argue with Greinke, who went 15-5 with a 3.48 ERA, a 1.20 WHIP and threw 200 strikeouts for the Milwaukee Brewers and Los Angeles Angels last season and ended up signing a six-year, $147 million deal with the Dodgers in December.

After all, money talks.

But the fact that he was so forthright in admitting why he signed with the Dodgers is a bit unsettling.

First, though it’s slowly starting to become untrue, fans watch baseball with the belief that the players are on the field and playing for the sole love of the game, with money being an added bonus. In one fell swoop, Greinke has essentially killed that ideal. 

More importantly, think of how this could affect the rest of Greinke’s career. He’s 29 years old right now, meaning that barring a major injury, he’ll be 35 when he next hits the open market.

Seeing as how he basically just said he has no loyalty, what team is going to be willing to bring him aboard long-term if he’s just going to ditch them for more money once the deal is up anyway?

Granted, this could also mean that teams will just get into bidding wars over Greinke in the future. Nevertheless, it still attaches a bit of a stigma to him, especially since he basically said the opposite to Ken Gurnick of MLB.com at his introductory press conference.

There’s a couple things I was really looking at with teams besides the money, I guess, The No. 1 [factor] was to have a team that could have a chance to win a World Series for several years. … My main goal was a team that was competing each year to get a World Series [title]. Also, I looked at the organizations some, the cities — which ones we’d be most comfortable in and which ones we’d enjoy the most. Then also what my parents kind of liked and stuff like that.

[The Angels] kept in contact the whole time, from when I first got there to right when the season was over and right when the World Series was over. When the details came, they never really got into it too much. But my wife and I loved it there. Great place.

Now that the truth is out, that the City of Los Angeles was not really a factor in his signing with the Dodgers, Greinke has a lot of work to do in trying to win the fans over. He needs to have a great season and prove that he is indeed committed to the team and not just punching a clock for a paycheck.

Unless he’s in Cy Young form or something close to it throughout the season, he’s going to have a hard time staying on the fans’ and organization’s good side. After all, he may not care about representing a losing team, but the fans will. 

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com


MLB Teams That Will Be in Best Spot to Win 2013 World Series

The San Francisco Giants’ Cinderella-like postseason run that was capped by their second World Series championship in three seasons will forever be cemented in franchise history.

The Giants proved they could compete and be successful with far inferior talent than their opposition. The Giants were the best team during the 2012 playoffs for one reason; they had a solid nucleus of veteran leadership that never weakened.

The 2013 season could be much different.

A number of teams went all-in during free agency, looking to reload and better themselves for the season to come, while other teams leaned on the conservative side.  

Teams that had an active offseason in terms of upgrading their rosters included, Atlanta, Cincinnati, Washington, the Los Angeles Dodgers, the Los Angeles Angels and the Detroit Tigers.

It’s certainly premature to say which teams will make it to the Fall Classic in October. But it’s fair to point out that the aforementioned clubs are in the best position to do so based on how active they were this offseason. 

Begin Slideshow


Copyright © 1996-2010 Kuzul. All rights reserved.
iDream theme by Templates Next | Powered by WordPress