On Monday, the Kansas City Royals and veteran right-hander Zack Greinke agreed to a one-year deal.
It will be Greinke’s 20th season in Major League Baseball and ninth with the Royals, the team with which he made his debut in 2004.
The Royals have an impressive group of young position players, headlined by shortstop/third baseman Bobby Witt Jr. and also Vinnie Pasquantino, MJ Melendez, and Nick Pratto.
The organization, however, doesn’t seem to have a clue when it comes to developing pitchers.
Only Brady Singer has been successful from a group of prospects that also includes Kris Bubic, Jackson Kowar, Daniel Lynch, Carlos Hernandez, and others.
Therefore, in order to be decent and not have the worst pitching in the league – they are close – they need a decent veteran like Greinke, who had a 3.68 ERA in 137 innings last year even at 38 years old.
He is 39 now, and will be tasked with giving some stability to the group.
MLB insider Jon Heyman revealed some financial details of the pact.
“Zack Greinke and Royals agreed at $8.5M, plus $7.5M incentives,” he tweeted.
Zack Greinke and Royals agreed at $8.5M, plus $7.5M incentives
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) February 3, 2023
It’s a nice base salary for the veteran, who is still looking for his first World Series title.
He likely won’t get a shot with the Royals, but he can be a decent starter and a nice mentor for Kansas City’s young staff.
He relies on command and breaking stuff more than he does on his four-seam fastball (which rarely cracks 90 mph these days), but that’s a recipe that he has found successful in recent years as he loses velocity.
He will give it a go for one more year.
NEXT: Royals Make The Zack Greinke Deal Official
