Diamondbacks finalize 6-year deal with Zack Greinke
The Diamondbacks have officially announced the signing of free-agent starting pitcher Zack Greinke to a six-year, $206.5 million deal.
The 32-year-old right-hander, who led the major leagues with a 1.66 ERA in 2015, will earn an average annual salary of $34.4 million -- highest in major-league history.
"Zack fills the frontline starter need we've been exploring for a while," D-backs general manager Dave Stewart said. "He is an established, proven competitor, and his body of his work speaks for itself. Zack will be a tremendous influence on our young starters.
New threads for the new #Dbacks ace. #️⃣2️⃣1️⃣ #JoinTheEvolution pic.twitter.com/yAXKckhRPr
— Arizona Diamondbacks (@Dbacks) December 8, 2015
The Diamondbacks beat out NL West rivals Los Angeles and San Francisco to sign the major league ERA leader and runner-up for the NL Cy Young Award, who helped the Dodgers win their third straight division title this season. Greinke signed a $147 million, six-year deal with the Dodgers in December that included an opt-out clause. He will wind up earning $282.5 million over nine seasons.
His average tops the previous mark of $31 million set last week when left-hander David Price agreed to a $217 million, seven-year contract with Boston.
Greinke finished second in NL Cy Young Award voting this year after posting a 19-3 record with a 1.66 ERA and 0.84 WHIP. His ERA was the lowest in the major leagues since Greg Maddux's 1.63 in 1995.
Greinke also won a second consecutive Gold Glove Award for fielding excellence and is one of the best hitting pitchers in baseball, with a .220 career batting average and six home runs.
Over the past five seasons, Greinke has an 82-26 record with a 2.82 ERA and a 4.19 strikeouts-to-walk ratio. For his career, spanning 12 seasons with Kansas City, Milwaukee, the L.A. Angels and L.A. Dodgers, he has a 142-93 record and a 3.35 ERA.
He's made 10 career starts at Chase Field, going 6-2 with a 3.34 ERA. He made two starts at Chase in 2015 and did not give up a run over 15 innings.
To make room on the 40-man roster, right-handed pitcher A.J. Schugel was designated for assignment.
