The MLB winter meetings are just two weeks away, and the competitive landscape of free agency will likely make its biggest plays this offseason.
Executives of all 30 teams will convene in Nashville, where the hot stove will reach its peak.
The offseason has already featured a bevy of trades and signings; however, many of the blue-chip free agents—notably the slew of starting pitchers—are still on the market.
Here is the latest buzz on a few key pitchers rumored to possibly suit up in a different uniform than the year prior.
Rival Giants Reported Favorites to Sign Zack Greinke
Since the Los Angeles Dodgers were eliminated from the playoffs, Zack Greinke has opted out of a $71 million guaranteed deal and finished runner-up for the National League Cy Young Award despite hurling the lowest ERA (1.66) in two decades.
But it appears Greinke’s fortunes may turn around soon. At 32, he’s expected to successfully command an even richer deal than the $23.6 million salary he was earning with the Dodgers—and perhaps with the biggest rivals to the boys in blue.
Jon Heyman of CBS Sports reports the San Francisco Giants may have stolen momentum from the incumbent Dodgers as favorites to land Greinke.
The Giants are in the market for a starting pitcher this offseason, perhaps two, and have the wallet to pursue an asset as expensive as Greinke. And falling short last winter in the Jon Lester sweepstakes showed, as their rotation didn’t have much to lean on past superstar Madison Bumgarner.
Signing Greinke—and perhaps another above-par starter—would not only give the Giants the best rotation in the NL West, but also steal that moniker away from the reigning three-time division champion Dodgers.
John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle discussed the immediate impact Greinke could make in shifting the competitive balance of the entire division:
One move. It’s all the Giants need to make. It virtually could assure a division title so long as other players have their normal years. It would solidify the roster. It would shift the balance of power in the National League West.
It would be signing Zack Greinke.
Giants manager Bruce Bochy named Greinke the NL starter at last year’s All-Star Game, and Andrew Baggarly of CSN Bay Area quipped the pair’s relationship should steer in San Francisco’s favor:
The Dodgers expected to be in this position, as the veteran righty had long been expected to opt out of his deal. Those speculations were all but guaranteed when Greinke was in the midst of a Cy Young-worthy campaign last summer.
The Dodgers will still make a hard run at Greinke, who said after the season he’d like to remain in L.A. But their rivals up the Pacific Coast Highway may soar the price tag.
Dodgers Making Jordan Zimmermann Top Priority
Bracing for Greinke’s possible departure, the Dodgers are also looking at another hard-hurling righty, according to Bob Nightengale of USA Today:
If Greinke and David Price are the A-listers of this class, Jordan Zimmermann is a B to B-plus candidate.
He saw some falloff in 2015—his ERA, WHIP and FIP were all worse than the year prior—but he eclipsed 200 innings for the second time in three years (with a 199.2 inning year sandwiched in between), leaving his 2009 Tommy John surgery in the distant rearview.
Zimmermann turns 30 next season, so he’s a tad younger than the other high-profile pitchers on the market. But if the Dodgers sign him they’ll lose their highest draft pick because he turned down a qualifying offer from the Nationals.
The Dodgers may be willing to take that chance—particularly if Greinke jets—as they are very much in win-now mode, as World Series favorites at some point in each of the last three offseasons.
They’ll be making their 2016 run with Dave Roberts as the new manager, according to the Los Angeles Times' Dylan Hernandez, Bill Plaschke and Bill Shaikin, so a clubhouse favorite such as Zimmermann certainly boosts their winning culture.
The Chicago Cubs, a fellow NL pennant-chaser, have also emerged in the Zimmermann sweepstakes, per Jesse Rogers of ESPN Chicago.
The Cubs are the believed favorites to land Price, who is expected $200 million or more, but are actively shopping elsewhere—reaching out to former Cub Jeff Samardzija, per Phil Rogers of MLB.com, among others—should their Price pursuit fall short.
As Rogers noted, Zimmermann would cost about half of Price’s tag and leave the Cubs more financial stability to shop for other pieces.
Zimmermann might not have finished as a top-of-the-rotation fixture as he did a year ago, but his market appears far more fluid than that of a Johnny Cueto, who seems to be drawing crickets.
Zimmermann is probably also reassured that his suitors were playoff teams a year ago after being immersed in a Nationals collapse despite being unanimous preseason World Series favorites.
Will Mark Buehrle Retire or Return?
Much has been speculated that 16-year veteran Mark Buehrle will retire this winter. He’ll be 37 before Opening Day and his contract is up with the Toronto Blue Jays after a nice few runs that culminated with an AL East title last year.
A reunion with the Chicago White Sox, where Buehrle spent his first 12 seasons, has floated, but that seems highly unlikely.
As Scott Merkin of MLB.com wrote, the South Siders already have a slew of lefties in their current rotation: "A healthy Buehrle certainly would help any team in regard to the innings and consistent quality starts he's been able to log for the past 15 seasons, but I don't envision the White Sox going with five southpaws in their rotation."
The Blue Jays, who re-signed Marco Estrada to a two-year, $26 million deal earlier this month, aren’t expected to bring back Buehrle, who was 1.1 frames shy of eclipsing the 200 innings mark for the 15th straight season.
He could help a contender on a one-year deal and make one final hoorah. According to Joel Sherman of the New York Post, 10 teams are interested in the seemingly ageless lefty, who is a five-time All-Star with a no-hitter and perfect game.
Bob Elliott of the Toronto Sun reported, however, that only one team will pique Buehrle’s interest: his hometown St. Louis Cardinals.
The Cardinals are coming off a 100-win season and third straight NL Central title amid the year-round attrition dealt to their beleaguered rotation.
The Redbirds have reliable pieces in Michael Wacha, Lance Lynn and Jaime Garcia, but ace Adam Wainwright will be coming off an Achilles injury and John Lackey may sign elsewhere after denying a $15.8 million qualifying offer.
Buehrle’s upstanding presence would blend swimmingly in the Cardinals’ all-business clubhouse, and he could fill the veteran void should Lackey leave.
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