Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times, has reported that Zack Greinke officially opted out of his contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers Wednesday morning.
Greinke is a three-time All-Star who won the AL Cy Young award in 2009 and is a strong candidate to win the 2015 NL Cy Young award. In 2013, the Dodgers signed Greinke to a six-year, $147 million deal that allowed him to opt out after just three seasons. If Greinke had decided not to opt out of his contract, he would’ve earned $26 million next season, $25 million in 2017, and another $26 million for the final year of his contract.
Zack Greinke who is 32-years-old, finished the 2015 season with a 19-3 record, while leading the majors with a 1.66 ERA and a 0.84 WHIP. The Dodgers could re-sign Greinke, but rumors have suggested that the Dodgers are not interested in a contract that would extend into Greinke’s late 30’s. Mark Walter, the controlling owner of the Los Angeles Dodgers said that President of Baseball Operations Andrew Freidman and General Manager Farhan Zaidi, are aware of what the financial parameters are in regards to any Greinke deal.
“They know what they should do and shouldn’t do,” Walter said. “I have faith in those guys.”
If the Dodgers choose not to re-sign Zack Greinke or if they’re unable to, that will leave them with only two healthy starting pitchers who are under contract for the 2016 season; Clayton Kershaw and Alex Wood. The Dodgers hope lefty Hyun-jin Ryu (shoulder surgery) will be ready to start the season, while Brandon McCarthy (elbow surgery) they hope will be ready for the second half of the season.
If Greinke doesn’t return for whatever reason, than his production will certainly be hard for the Dodgers to replace. He had the fourth-lowest ERA by a qualified pitcher since MLB lowered the mound before the 1969 season. In three seasons with the Los Angeles Dodgers, Greinke had a 51-15 record, while posting a 2.33 ERA over that span.
