MLB Free Agency: 5 potential landing spots for Zack Greinke

Los Angeles Dodgers

Just because Zack Greinke exercised his opt-out clause to void his deal with the Dodgers, it doesn’t preclude the right-hander from returning to Los Angeles next season. He just wants a little bit of added security as he enters the final years of his career.

Greinke had a pretty good run of things while pitching his home games in Chavez Ravine and he understands what pitching in the National League has done for his career. In three seasons with the Dodgers, Greinke is 51-15 with a 2.30 ERA, a 2.97 FIP, and a 8.3 K/9 ratio.

The Dodgers aren’t likely willing to let him just walk away and they are positioned to make sure he stays in house. It wouldn’t be out of the question for the Dodgers to take a similar route that the Yankees did with C.C. Sabathia and simply tack on a few years and make this a six-year deal with an average annual salary of $26-$27 million. If they did, that would be a no-brainer for both parties.

Los Angeles is one of the few teams in baseball that can take an assesses risk on such a contract. They showed that during the run-up to the trade deadline, when the team brought on bad contracts as a way to secure young talent. They certainly won’t scoff at having to eat one or two years at the end of the deal should Greinke experience a sharp drop-off in production or health.

Given the Dodgers commitment to winning, if Greinke were to re-sign with the team and put together a similar string of campaigns to his last three seasons, he could potentially turn his career into a Hall of Fame induction. That won’t be lost on the 32-year-old as he begins to look at the end of his career, as the Hall of Fame and a chance at a World Series become the two driving factors in choosing a potential landing spot.

Given the marriage of all three, the Dodgers are likely the favorite to retain Zack Greinke’s services and make sure he retires in a Dodgers’ uniform.

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