AP Source: Royals sign RHP Greinke to $13M contract for 2022
By DAVE SKRETTA
AP Sports Writer
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The Kansas City Royals agreed with six-time All-Star Zack Greinke on a $13 million contract for this season, reuniting the left-hander with the club that drafted him in the first round two decades ago, a person familiar with the negotiations told The Associated Press.
The person, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the deal was pending a successful physical, said that Greinke could earn up to $2 million in performance bonuses. The Athletic first reported a deal had been reached.
The 38-year-old Greinke was the sixth overall pick of the Royals in the 2002 amateur draft, and he spent his first six-plus seasons with the club, winning the Cy Young Award during his standout 2009 season. He was traded to the Brewers the following year for a package of players that ultimately formed the basis of the Royals’ back-to-back AL champion teams.
Greinke spent just over a season in Milwaukee before his he was traded to the Angels, then he spent three seasons across town with the Dodgers, where he finished second in Cy Young voting in 2015. Greinke went on to pitch four seasons for the Diamondbacks before spending the past three seasons with the Astros.
He went 11-6 with a 4.16 ERA and one complete game in 29 starts for Houston last season.
Greinke left the Royals as an up-and-coming star just hitting his prime years, and he returns to provide veteran leadership for a rotation that figures to be among the youngest in baseball. Brad Keller had been the elder statesman at 26 years old, while Brady Singer, Kris Bubic, Daniel Lynch, Carlos Hernandez and Jackson Kowar are even younger.
The move to sign Greinke came hours after the Royals traded left-hander Mike Minor to the Reds for reliever Amir Garrett on Wednesday. The Reds also would get $500,000 from the Royals if Minor’s mutual option for 2023 is declined.
Minor is due $10 million this season in the second year of an $18 million, two-year contract. The deal originally included a $13 million club option for 2023 with a $1 million buyout but the contract contains a provision converting it to a mutual option because of the trade.
Garrett is eligible for arbitration and likely will have a salary in the $2 million range.
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