Diamondbacks get Zack Greinke with six-year deal value $206 million

The D-backs are not known for this kind of extravagant spending. He reached agreement on a $206.5 million, six-year deal, sources told The Associated Press. Again, as a Giants fan, I hope General Manager, Bobby Evans does something.

It was all part of a lovely plan. The Diamondbacks will also have Patrick Corbin for a full season for the first time since his all-star 2013-14 season, after which he missed all of 2014 due to Tommy John surgery and came back midway through 2015. With Greinke, the future is now. Rosenthal reported that Diamondbacks officials met Thursday with right-hander Mike Leake, who lives in the Phoenix area and pitched at Arizona State, and remain in the running even after completing the Greinke signing. It remains to be seen if money remains.

Greinke’s ultimate landing place was a surprise, but the Dodgers’ reluctance to offer him a six-year contract wasn’t. They may be looking to sign two number two starters.

Earlier this off-season, pitcher Johnny Cueto turned down a $120 million offer from the Diamondbacks after he helped Kansas City win the World Series and became a free agent.

Greinke signs three days after David Price agreed to a seven-year, 7 million contract with the Boston Red Sox. Their largest free-agent contracts had been Yasmany Tomas ($68.5 million) and Randy Johnson ($52 million), while their payroll has not exceeded $100 since 2002.

The Diamondbacks have been an unusual team over the last 12 months. At this time, I don’t know if the Giants nor the Dodgers negotiated on a six year deal with the right hander.

Career strikeouts: Zack Greinke, 1,887.

A thinking-man’s pitcher with top-end stuff, Greinke, then, has thought his way through his career much as he does a start. The Dodgers have led the major leagues in attendance in every year under Guggenheim Baseball ownership, and the team just increased ticket prices sharply.

Leake has been a solid innings-eater throughout his career, making at least 30 starts covering at least 179 innings in each of the last four seasons. Included on that list is a pair of former first round picks, Archie Bradley and Braden Shipley, as well as Robbie Ray, a young lefty who posted a 3.52 ERA in 2015.

Hall of Fame support for McGwire has actually declined since he began coaching in 2010, and previous year he received his lowest vote total yet. But it’s still startling to realize that Greinke may well earn more than every other pitcher on the team put together. He should benefit from a defense that “saved” 63 runs last season, according to baseball-reference.com, the best figure in the NL.

Both had money socked away for Greinke.