So… Why Does Zack Greinke’s No-Trade List Include the Red Sox and Yankees?
This list came out today with teams that Zack Greinke has on his “no-trade” list and it includes three of the current top powerhouses in the MLB. The New York Yankees, Boston Red Sox, and Los Angeles Dodgers.
Also included in the story is Greinke’s full no-trade list, per a baseball source:
– Orioles
– Red Sox
– Reds
– Rockies
– Tigers
– Yankees
– Athletics
– Padres
– Giants
– Cardinals
– Blue Jays
– Angels
– Dodgers
– Twins
– Phillies— Zach Buchanan (@ZHBuchanan) November 30, 2018
So has this guy just completely given up on winning the World Series? I’m not saying that going to Philadelphia would be a move I would choose, but he has them listed too. Philly is pretty close to being legit contenders. So realistically, what the hell is this guy’s game plan here?
He’s 35 years old and is sitting on a ridiculous contract that he signed before the 2016 season. Greinke won’t become a free agent until 2022 and earns a little over $34M per season. Guy, what!?
Greinke earned this deal during the three years that he spent in Los Angeles with the Dodgers where he was insanely dominant. That tandem of him and Clayton Kershaw was deadly. Entering the free agent market during the offseason ahead of 2016, he was one of the top two pitchers on the market. The other being David Price who of course, landed with the Red Sox.
I remember the talk about the Red Sox potentially looking at him because, at the time, they were desperate for an ace. Remember 2015? The “five aces” year while the best pitcher on the staff was Clay Buchholz? Man, I kind of miss that stringy, twitchy little legend.
Thank GOD they didn’t pick up this deal. Not that this is a joke, but Zack Greinke during his time with the Royals had to step away and was then diagnosed with a social anxiety disorder. Boston is not the place you want to be if you’re a professional baseball player who doesn’t handle social interaction well because we’re straight hyenas out here.
So honestly, in knowing about this — and who knows if he still suffers from it — but not wanting to go to Boston, New York or back to Los Angeles would make sense.
The guy is 35-years-old and while he isn’t $34M worthy, he’s still plenty serviceable. If he can join a team who’s semi close to becoming contenders, that would probably be the best fit. But like, a small market team where nobody gives a damn about baseball. Maybe Miami? Cincinnati? Atlanta? Whatever it is, he’s still got some juice in the tank after throwing a 3.21 ERA last season.
This list is just wild to me. I love seeing these things come out because it’s like a small peek behind the curtain in the mind of a major league ballplayer. I would LOVE to sit down with Greinke and just pick his brain about this. Why not the reigning World Series champs? Why not the 100 win (but actually won nothing) New York Yankees? Why not Detroit? (lol just kidding).
If the Diamondbacks can move him, it’ll be super intriguing what the tradeoff is. There’s no chance that a team is willing to take on this guy’s entire contract, so how much will Arizona have to eat?
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-Nick Quaglia (@NickQuag)