Greinke set to join Diamondbacks, reports say

Greinke, 32, was arguably the best free agent starter on the market this offseason and inarguably the best once David Price agreed to a seven-year contract with the Red Sox.

The Dodgers lost out on Zack Greinke, who cashed in on a massive six-year contract with the Diamondbacks worth a reported $206.5 million, give or take $15 or $20 million depending on the details of the deferred money. That averages out to $34.42 million a year, which would be the most per year in Major League Baseball history.

Zack Greinke finished second in NL Cy Young Award voting as a member of the Dodgers in 2015.

With a seven-year, $217 million contract that was the richest ever for a pitcher, the Red Sox are expecting playoff wins.

Arizona might not be done either.

The D-backs beat out the division rival Dodgers and Giants to unexpectedly win the Greinke sweepstakes Friday night, acquiring the free agent ace they hope will get the franchise contending again – and fast.

Price’s contract, which had an average annual value of $31 million, set the baseline for Greinke’s deal.

The other is Johnny Cueto, who reportedly rejected a six-year, $120-million offer from the Diamondbacks. The Dodgers required a man inches behind Clayton Kershaw, as Greinke just completed the finest season of his career in that very role.

Enter Greinke, who was by some measures the best pitcher in the major leagues in 2015 and is nonetheless one of the game’s true aces.

Pitcher Oliver Perez and the Washington Nationals have agreed to a $7 million, two-year contract, according to a person familiar with the negotiations, a start to rebuilding the team’s shaky bullpen. He went 19-3 and pitched six or more innings in all 32 of his starts.

His outstanding season included a scoreless streak of 45 2/3 innings.

Greinke will be part of a rotation that includes former All-Star Patrick Corbin and will play in front of one of the best defenses in baseball. Brett Anderson returns after his first healthy season since 2009 and young Alex Wood is also back, but Hyun-Jin Ryu is coming off shoulder surgery that cost him all of last season and Brandon McCarthy is out until midseason after Tommy John surgery.

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.