Zack Greinke
Did Zack Greinke retire? Should he retire? Not when you are getting $8.5 million. You can never go home again, but Greinke did when the righty signed a deal to hurl for the Royals in 2022. Last season, the former Cy Young Award winner made 27 starts for the Royals and went 2-15, but, hey, this was the Royals.
Greinke did have a 5.08 ERA/4.74 FIP but allowed a career-high 1.6 HR/9, and the 4.22 SO/W was a tad above career norms. If you go with a 1.1 fWAR, then Greinke was slightly underpaid.
Greinke has lost some zip over the years on his heater, but at 39 years old, that is no shock. The rest of the pitching package is just about everything but a knuckleball, all tuned to control. At Fenway Park (0-2, 10.22), his career has not shined.
If Greinke stays around for another year, it may be a return to the Royals, but there will be a market for a pitcher who can still give some innings and provide depth. Amazingly, this potential Hall of Fame pitcher has no 20-win season embedded in his 225 career wins.
If Bloom were still around, this would be his shiny keys, but for Breslow, it may be a different story. Be interesting to see if Greinke hangs around to pad potential HOF numbers.