Zack Greinke = LA Dodger

[Frayed Knot]

2nd richest contract for pitcher ever (CC Sabathia)

By some thinking, this was the deal that has been holding up other stuff (see: mega-deal thread).
Texas, now that it did not get Greinke, might be more likely to re-sign Hamilton because they don't have the pitching to trade and maybe ends their pursuit of younger Upton and on down the line of dominoes.

[Benjamin Grimm]

Some have said that this might mean Olt for Dickey.

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

Interesting.

Really makes you hate the Dodgers, doesn't it?

[smg58]

Wow. Greinke has only had one season that merits this kind of contract. He's been good otherwise, but, wow.

[Frayed Knot]

Benjamin Grimm wrote: Some have said that this might mean Olt for Dickey.

Yup.
- it could mean that the Rangers need to now trade for pitching since they didn't get the pitcher they wanted
- or it means they really want to trade for pitching so they'll have the cushion to trade away other pitching for the likes of Upton
- or it means they'll be more likely to throw the money not spent on Greinke towards resigning Hamilton and will have less need for Olt's bat

Or maybe it means none of that. What do I know?

[Frayed Knot]

Wow. Greinke has only had one season that merits this kind of contract. He's been good otherwise, but, wow.

To expand on that a bit further, Greinke has received ZERO CY votes with the exception of the one season (2009) when he won it almost unanimously (25 of 28 1st place votes).
To his credit he did beat some pitching royalty that year as Felix Hernandez, Justin Verlander, CC Sabathia & Roy Halladay finished 2nd through 5th, but, compared to Greinke ...
- Hernandez won his the following season and also had seasons with a 2nd & 4th place finish and he's 2-1/2 years younger
- Verlander won his in 2011 AND has three top-five finishes AND placed 7th & 11th in two other years AND snagged a little thing we like to call the MVP award.
- Sabathia won his in 2007 plus has four other seasons where he placed top-five
- Halladay has won twice plus has four other top-fives

And even the top of that year's NL class shows a lot more post-season ink:
1st - Tim Lincecum - two wins plus a 6th & a 10th
2nd - Chris Carpenter: One win plus a runner-up & a 3rd
3rd - Adam Wainwright: No wins but a place and a show
4th - Javier Vazquez: one 4th place finish
5th - Dan Haren: Once in 5th, once in 7th

Not that CY voting is the final word on anything, but it does paint a picture of a pitcher who's often good though rarely great and not really in the class of others who have received (or in the case of Hernandez, probably will soon) that kind of money.
Greinke just turned 29.

[ashie62]

Uh, has Greinke done time in a cacklefactory?

[MFS62]

Does he want to adopt me?

Later

[Frayed Knot]

Partial numbers for Dodger payroll in 2013:

1B - Adrian Gonzalez = $21 million
2B - Mark Ellis = $5.25 mil
SS - Hanley Ramirez = $15.5 mil
3B - Juan Uribe = $8 mil
LF - Carl Crawford = $20 mil
CF - Matt Kemp = $20 mil
RF - Andre Ethier = $15.5

Starters:
Josh Beckett = $15.75 mil
Chad Billingsley = $11 mil
Ted Lilly = $12 mil
Clayton Kershaw = $11 mil
Aaron Harang = $7 mil
Chris Capuano = $6 mil
Zack Greinke = $17 mil

and now add in 7-time All-Star in the Korean League LHP Hyun-Jin Ryu -- they finalized a contract with him today for six years at $36 mil, a figure that does not include the posting fee of nearly $26 million.


Most of the above are signed for 2014 as well (and beyond) at salaries similar to or higher than what's listed for this coming year
Oh, and they apparently owe nearly $12 million combined in payments to Manny Ramirez & Andruw Jones in 2013 too..

[smg58]

It turns out that even the Yankees reached a limit to their ability to spend. (Special thanks to A-Rod for his actions in the best interest of competitive baseball; may he enjoy every penny of the $100M the Yankees still owe him.) At some point the new Dodgers owners are going to realize that they don't have as much money as think they do, and it will be awfully hard for them to get themselves out of the mess they're creating for themselves.

[Frayed Knot]

smg58 wrote: ... At some point the new Dodgers owners are going to realize that they don't have as much money as think they do, and it will be awfully hard for them to get themselves out of the mess they're creating for themselves.

Hell, a lot of folks were saying that just about the initial purchase price of the team even before the payroll got all blow'd up.
Of course there are the ridonculous bucks being talked about from the TV deal they are about to sign (or maybe already have) to keep the whole thing afloat.

[MFS62]

If I were Mark Ellis, I'd get a new agent.


Later

[Edgy MD]

Frayed Knot wrote: Benjamin Grimm wrote: Some have said that this might mean Olt for Dickey. Yup. - it could mean that the Rangers need to now trade for pitching since they didn't get the pitcher they wanted - or it means they really want to trade for pitching so they'll have the cushion to trade away other pitching for the likes of Upton - or it means they'll be more likely to throw the money not spent on Greinke towards resigning Hamilton and will have less need for Olt's bat Or maybe it means none of that. What do I know?

It may also mean that Dickey's agents have just seen a whole bunch o' dollar signs, and their bargaining with the Mets just got a little harder.

Or it may mean that a team may be less inclined to grab a Dickey, because signing an extension with him just became a tougher proposition.

Or, it may mean that a team might desire Dickey more, because you feel even more intensely that you've got to take a Cy Young winner for a single year at five millions whenever you can, and worry about the future later.