USA Today’s Nightengale: Stunning if D-backs don’t trade Zack Greinke

[Ronin]

The sense around Major League Baseball is that the Arizona Diamondbacks are ready to go into a full rebuild.

That comes from word of mouth this week as the D-backs continue to heavily shop starting pitcher Zack Greinke, USA Today reporter Bob Nightengale told Doug & Wolf on 98.7 FM Arizona’s Sports Station.

“I’d be stunned if he is (with Arizona in 2019), I really would be,” Nightengale said Friday. “I mean, they’re shopping him everywhere. It may take a package with Paul Goldschmidt just because of the money involved.”

http://arizonasports.com/story/1737104/nightengale-stunned-d-backs-dont-trade-zack-greinke/

 

[Dback Jon]

I expect him to be gone.

 

[Ronin]

I expect him to be gone.

Yeah. He gone!

 

[overseascardfan]

I sure hope he doesn't mean they would include Goldschmidt to rid themselves of the entire Greinke contract. I look at it this way, he is owed $105M over the next three years. Reports are teams wouldn't pay him more than $20M a year so if ARZ kicks in $45M they should in theory get a good prospect package in return. So they would save $60M over 3 years and get a talent infusion into the farm spending $45M, I would do that if I was Hazen. Depending on what they get in return, they could probably fill is spot in the rotation and maybe either Corbin or Pollock's as well.

Dealing Greinke alone give ARZ a lot more options on whether they decide to pay Corbin $20M - $25M over 4 years. Speculation is that Goldy should net a couple of Top 100 prospects in a deal, so you look at some the potential trade partner farms:
PHI - Adam Halsey & Sixto Sanchez
STL - Nolan Gorman & Alex Reyes
HOU - Yordan Alvarez & JB Bukauskas and Seth Beer

Top contenders for Greinke are LAA, NYY and ATL per rumors. ATL has a lot of pitching prospects and NYY and LAA have prospects that could interest ARZ. Maybe ARZ can get Sonny Gray in a package from NY as they are looking to deal him. He struggled in NY after pitching well for OAK, maybe the humidor environment at Chase Field will benefit him.

 

[TJ]

Let the rebuild begin.