Zack Greinke agrees to contract with Diamondbacks

Greinke’s departure leaves the Dodgers with an unstable rotation beyond Kershaw. The right handed pitcher was a highly sought after free agent because he posted an ERA of 1.66, which is the lowest average in Major League Baseball in the past 20 years. 507 opponents’ OPS. His highlight was a 45 2/3 inning scoreless streak in June and July. They were 69-61 in games started by anyone else. The Dodgers gain a compensatory pick, likely No. 41.

He was most recently signed on with the Los Angeles Dodgers since the winter of 2012, but in November he opted out of the remaining three years of his contract and $71 million. 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. Was it only last year that Max Scherzer signed a seven-year, $210 million contract with Washington and Jon Lester joined the Cubs for six years at $155 million?

Fox first reported the deal, and said it was worth $206 million.

BOSTON – The Boston Red Sox announced their seven-year, $217 million contract with AL Cy Young runner-up David Price – the richest ever for a pitcher. It wasn’t until Friday afternoon that we learned the D-Backs were pursuing the right-hander, and even then it was unclear if they were willing to make a competitive offer, or just trying to drive up the price.

Greinke’s new deal with have an annual average value of $32.5 million. However, the anticipation was that he would be paid more per season.

“I know good things are going to happen to me in October”.

Los Angeles no longer has the best pitching tandem in Major League Baseball to lean on. The Dodgers and Giants were reportedly the two finalists locked in a bidding war for Greinke, who was assumed to be deciding between the two teams in the coming days.

Beyond that, the Dodgers are counting on the return of Hyun-Jin Ryu, who is recovering from a shoulder operation. Pelfrey, 31, went 6-11 with a 4.26 ERA for Minnesota in 2015.

Right-hander Brandon McCarthy is expected back from reconstructive elbow surgery, but not until the middle of the season. As Dodgers Chairman Mark Walter once famously said, “pitchers break”. “Two will depend on a lot of factors that are not determined at this point”.

A person with knowledge of the deal tells The Associated Press that free agent ace Zack Greinke and the Arizona Diamondbacks have reached agreement on a six-year contract. Please see our terms of service for more information.