Royals Add Two Arms, One a Familiar Name
The Kansas City Royals Wednesday made a pair of moves in their pitching arsenal, one of which brings a familiar name of the past back to his Royals roots.
The Royals signed right-hander Zack Greinke to a one-year deal Wednesday, bringing the 38-year-old back to the organization that drafted him number six overall in 2002. According to reports the deal is worth $13 million and includes $2 million in performance bonuses.
In 2009 Greinke became the first Royals pitcher to win a Cy Young Award since David Cone in 1994, posting a 2.16 ERA over 229 1/3 innings.
The Royals traded Greinke to the Brewers before the 2011 season, getting Lorenzo Cain, Alcides Escobar, Jeremy Jeffress and Jake Odorizzi. They later dealt Odorizzi to Tampa for Wade Davis and James Shields and the foundation was built for the club’s 2014 playoff run and 2015 world championship.
In his career, Greinke is 219-132 with a 3.41 ERA and 2,809 strikeouts. Greinke leads all active pitchers in games started (488), innings pitched (3,110) and batters faced (12,699). In his 22 postseason games, Greinke has a 4-6 record, 4.14 ERA and 100 strikeouts in 113 innings.
In another move Wednesday the Royals traded starter Mike Minor to the Reds for reliever Amir Garrett.
Garrett has been a key part of the Cincinnati Reds bullpen the last five years after being drafted by the club in 2011. He struggled a bit in 2021 posting a 6.04 ERA in 63 appearances. In 2019 and 2020 however Garrett had a 3.03 ERA and 104 strikeouts over 74 1/3 innings combined.
