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MLB Trade Rumors: Top 10 remaining offseason trade candidates

By Joshua Sadlock

MILWAUKEE, WI - SEPTEMBER 15: Christian Yelich #21 of the Miami Marlins walks through the dugout before the game against the Milwaukee Brewers at Miller Park on September 15, 2017 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. (Photo by Dylan Buell/Getty Images)
MILWAUKEE, WI - SEPTEMBER 15: Christian Yelich #21 of the Miami Marlins walks through the dugout before the game against the Milwaukee Brewers at Miller Park on September 15, 2017 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. (Photo by Dylan Buell/Getty Images) /
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7. Zack Greinke

Sticker shock seems to be setting in for the Arizona Diamondbacks now that they have paid two years of Zack Greinke’s ridiculous six-year, $206.5 million contract. It was an obvious reach when it was announced, but the Diamondbacks had to overpay to convince Greinke to leave a perennial contender in the Los Angeles Dodgers and join the upstarts in the desert.

It’s not that Greinke has been awful in his two years in Arizona or that there are signs that a serious cliff is coming for the 34-year-old right-hander. He is coming off a season where he went 17-7 with a 3.20 ERA and struck out 215 hitters in 202.1 innings — good for his highest strikeouts rate since 2011. Greinke is a very smart pitcher and great overall athlete, and he could conceivably pitch well for the life of the contract. The Diamondbacks, however, might like to shift that risk to someone else.

Getting to experience up close and personal what J.D. Martinez is capable in the right ballpark also changed the way the Diamondbacks view Greinke. He is no longer the ace leading their rotation — he is the one thing standing in their way of being able to re-sign Martinez while still having some money left over for when Paul Goldschmidt hits free agency.

Moving Greinke will not be easy, but the Diamondbacks can find a way to do it if they are serious and willing to eat a large chunk of the money left on the deal. With Robbie Ray, Taijuan Walker Zack Godley and Patrick Corbin looking formidable in the rotation, the need for Greinke is no longer there. In fact, the Diamondbacks are probably a stronger team without Greinke if they can keep Martinez in that potent lineup.

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