(610 Sports) – The Royals are bringing back the most interesting man in baseball.
According to 610 Sports' own Bob Fescoe, the team has agreed to a one-year deal with veteran starter Zack Greinke. The deal is thought to be worth $8-10 million in base salary, according to MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand.
Greinke began his career with the Royals back in 2002 when the club selected him as the the No. 6 overall pick in that year’s MLB Draft. He made his big league debut in KC in 2004 and spent his first seven seasons there, highlighted by an AL Cy Young Award win in 2009.
After stints with the Brewers, Angels, Dodgers, Diamondbacks and Astros, Greinke returned to the team that drafted him last season, posting a 3.68 ERA in 26 starts over 137 innings pitched.
While Greinke's 4.8 K/9 last year were a career-low and ranked as the worst K/9 of all 90 major league pitchers who logged at least 130 innings over the course of the 2022 regular season, he showed terrific control with 1.8 BB/9 and surrendered just 14 home runs in 585 total batters faced.
The 39-year old Greinke figures to slot in behind starters Brady Singer and Brad Keller on the Royals staff, along with Daniel Lynch and newcomers Jordan Lyles and Ryan Yarbrough. The Royals have a plethora of young pitchers looking to make strides and break into the rotation.
Kansas City finished 27th among all 30 teams in combined starter ERA (4.76) in 2022, something the team hopes to improve upon in 2023.
