Zack Greinke Heading To Free Agency

A Few days after ending the season in a loss in the divisional series vs. New York Mets, Los Angeles Dodgers Pitcher Zack Greinke announced today that he has opted out the rest of his remaining  contract, which his 71 million for the next three years. The team still has ace pitcher Clayton Kershaw, but Greinke is a big part of the starting rotation as well.

This season for the Dodgers, Greinke has a record of 19-3, 1.66 ERA, 200 strikeouts and a WHIP of 0.84. With the numbers that Greinke produced this season, there is no doubt that he is the odds on favorite to win the National League Cy Young award. Greinke was one of the reasons why the Dodgers made it to the playoffs, as he kept them in games this season, ultimately helping the team win the NL West.

There is a reason why Greinke is one of the best pitchers in the world. He has great command in his pitches and he knows how to win games. What Greinke is best at is keeping the ball in the strike zone and striking out batters. 

Greinke is a pitcher that you want as the ace of your pitching staff, and as the number one starter. Unless you already have a dominating number one starter in your rotation, then putting Greinke in the number two spot is not bad either. However, number one is where he shines the most. When it comes down to the clutch, Greinke is the type of pitcher that you want on the mound in the important games.

With the performance he has this season, the time for Greinke to cash in free agency is now. The Dodgers will have a chance to resign him back onto the team, but it will come at a heavy price tag. Seeing how Greinke has played the past few seasons, he will be worth most likely around 100 million dollars or even more. It is a lot of money for him, but it is all worth it in the end if he can perform the same way he did this season with the Dodgers.

On the Dodgers standpoint, it will be a big loss to the rotation if the team can not resign Greinke. This guy has done a lot for the team, getting some pressure off  Kershaw. Giving the team a big one-two punch at starting pitching. If the team can resign him to a multi year and million dollar deal, then he will be demanding the team will have a dominating top two in the rotation for many years to come.