The Arizona Diamondbacks have agreed to terms with free agent pitcher Zack Greinke. His new contract is for six-years and worth a total of $206 million.
Greinke’s deal is the highest annual salary at $34.3 million per season. That’s higher than what recently-signed David Price got from the Boston Red Sox when he signed his seven-year, $217 contract.
Before signing this deal, Greinke, who opted out of his Los Angeles Dodgers after the season, was seeking a deal with an annual value between $31.5-to-$32 million per season.
Zack Greinke (Getty Images)
Unlike Price’s deal, Greinke does not have an option to opt-out of his contract like Price does after three-years.
The Diamondbacks got him to sign with them after a push by the Dodgers and the San Francisco Giants, the top two teams within the National League West, who were seeking his talent. Greinke was both of their teams their top priority.
The Dodgers reportedly offered him a five-year deal.
“We made a very strong offer to retain Zack but clearly he found a deal that fit better for him and his family,” Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman said in a statement Friday. “We are now hard at work on our alternatives. We wish Zack, Emily and Bode all the bet going forward.”
He is a perfect 6-0 with an 0.65 ERA and an opponents batting average of .199 since he joined the Dodgers in 2013. Giants ace Madison Bumgarner is the next-highest with a 1.50
The 32-year-old was a Cy Young candidate this season and had a Major League best 1.66 ERA, which was the lowest in 20-years. He also had an 0.84 WHIP, and was one of the best one-two pitching aces in baseball history with Clayton Kershaw.
The Dodgers lost in the National League Division Series in five games against the New York Mets as Greinke lost in the series-clinching Game 5. Kershaw and Greinke started four of the five games.
He was second in the NL Cy Young voting behind winner and Chicago Cubs ace Jake Arrieta. Kershaw was third.
Last month, Greinke opted out of his contract with the Dodgers, which had three-years and $71 million remaining on it. He originally joined the Dodgers in the winter of 2012.
The 32-year-old has the highest annual contract of any athlete in the four professional sports. His $34.3 average annual is the highest-ever given to the a pitcher and the highest of any player in baseball.
It beats out Price and Detroit Tigers slugger Miguel Cabrera, who gets $31 million per season. Kershaw gets $30.7 million and Max Scherzer, who once at the highest-paid contract on January with a seven-year, $210 contract with the Washington Nationals, makes $30 million per season.
Greinke’s contract is also larger than the Diamondbacks have handed out for free agents over the past eight off-seasons combined. During that time, the team spent $201.725 for 28 players, according to ESPN Stats & Info.
Any Corrections?. You can contact Anthony at publisher@thecapitalsportsreport.com.
The Capital Sports Report 