Someone has grabbed a hold of the stove and turned the heat all the way up just days ahead of the annual winter meetings.
The Arizona Diamondbacks have reached an agreement with coveted free agent starting pitcher Zack Greinke, according to Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports.
Sources: Greinke in agreement with #DBacks, pending physical.
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) December 5, 2015
Just days after multiple sources reported that free agent Johnny Cueto declined a six-year, $120 million offer from Arizona, the Diamondbacks have found their ace. Greinke is coming off a full season in which he recorded a 1.66 ERA and finished second on the National League Cy Young voting. Over the last three seasons, Greinke is 51-15 with a 2.30 ERA in 92 starts.
The buzz around baseball was that Greinke would likely choose between the Los Angeles Dodgers and San Francisco Giants, but Arizona GM Dave Stewart swooped in and got his man within hours of the Diamondbacks reported interest. Jon Heyman of CBS Sports has reported that the Greinke deal is for six years.
greinke gets 6 yr dea with dbacks — Jon Heyman (@JonHeymanCBS) December 5, 2015
This move signals a massive commitment by the Diamondbacks organization to begin capitalizing on the abundance of young, powerful offensive talent already assembled on their roster. The lack of a true ace may have been the last hurdle to clear before Arizona was able to threaten the National League’s best. If the reports are confirmed, the Diamondbacks must be considered a viable threat to the Dodgers and Giants.
Update: Ken Rosenthal has confirmed this report from Nick Piecoro of The Arizona Republic:
I'm told Greinke's deal is for six years and $206.5M.
— Nick Piecoro (@nickpiecoro) December 5, 2015
The $34.4 million average annual value of Greinke’s deal is the highest in MLB history. That record was previously shared by David Price and Miguel Cabrera.
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