Friday April 27, 2012

Ryan Ritchey: The question for all the teams in the major leagues is if Zack Greinke is worth the $100 million that he is going to want…and likely get. With Greinke being a free agent at the end of the season, does he want to stay with the Brewers or does he want to test free agency. At the age of 28, he could get the big 7 -year deal he is seeking. But it won’t be worth 100 million. He could end up getting around $80 million with a great season in 2012. With a 16 win season last year and off to a pretty quick start this season, he is showing the league what he’s got. With Fielder leaving though, I don’t see him staying with the Brewers after this season.

The big question about Greinke is whether he can stay healthy. Last season was his best season in terms of wins, but he didn’t get to the 200 inning mark that every pitching coach wants his pitchers at. If he wants to be the ace that every team is going to want him to be, he is going to need to be a 200 inning guy. I can see Greinke being the guy that throws those 200 innings year after year but the only way this happens is if he can stay consistent and get batters out.

Don’t get me wrong, Greinke is a great pitcher. But he just scares me with respect to his consistency and health. If I was a general manager, I would be tentative to give him that amount of money without knowing if he is going to play for the full length of his contract. He could be a great pickup for a team like the A’s who are young and trying to rebuild. He could lead that team and show the younger guys what it takes to win. Another spot he could fit in is Seattle who are short on pitching after King Felix.

In my mind I see him wanting to go to a winning team that has a chance to win a championship. A team that could go out and get him at the end of free agency is the Yankees. With Michael Pineda going down with arm issues, the Yankees could need to fill a spot in the rotation if the Andy Pettitte comeback doesn’t work out. He wouldn’t have to pitch 7 innings every night with the bullpen the Yankees have. The Yankees are a good team to look at if you’re Greinke, who is going to want to win a championship before his career comes to an end. The only real question is whether Greinke can stand the New York hype and attention that will certainly follow him if he makes the move to the Bronx.

I see Greinke as a better fit for the National League with the weaker lineups. I don’t think Greinke will have the stuff to finish out an American League team night after night over the next few seasons. With the weaker lineups, Greinke can pitch deeper into games while not having to throw the ball as hard as he can to every hitter. It’s hard to say where he could go in the National League but I believe that is his ultimate best fit. There are many great teams in the National League who have a chance to win a championship. Greinke needs to start thinking about which NL team to sign with in the offseason because the Brewers without Fielder are not going to win a championship any time soon in my opinion.

Ryan Ritchey is a MLB reports Baseball Intern. I am a high school senior, play second base and plan on studying sports journalism in college. I am a huge fan of Barry Larkin and Brandon Phillips. Have been a baseball fan my whole life and have been writing about baseball since freshman year. You can reach me on Twitter (@Ryan13Ritchey)

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