D-Backs Agree to Terms with Zack Greinke on 6-Year Contract

(Phoenix, AZ) — The Arizona Diamondbacks (@Dbacks, @LosDbacks) have agreed to terms on a 6-year contract with right-handed pitcher Zack Greinke, as announced by D-backs Sr. Vice President & General Manager Dave Stewart. In a corresponding move to make room on the 40-man roster, right-handed pitcher A.J. Schugel was designated for assignment.

“Zack fills the frontline starter need we’ve been exploring for a while. He is an established, proven competitor and his body of work speaks for itself. Zack will be a tremendous influence on our young starters,” said Stewart. “Thanks to ownership and our leadership team, we are able to build our rotation around Zack and be competitive for years to come. This is an exciting time for the team and our fans.”

Greinke, 32, was the 2015 NL Cy Young runner-up, an NL All-Star and recipient of the NL Rawlings Gold Glove Award after posting a Major League-leading 1.66 ERA, .864 winning percentage, 30 quality starts and 0.844 WHIP while finishing second in the Majors with a .187 opponents average and tied for second in the NL with a career-high 19 wins for the Los Angeles Dodgers. His ERA was the lowest in the Majors since 1995 (Greg Maddux, 1.63).

The 12-year Major Leaguer won the 2009 AL Cy Young Award, is a 3-time All-Star (2009, 2014, 2015), a 2-time Rawlings Gold Glove Award winner (2014, 2015) and a Silver Slugger recipient (2013).

Over his last 5 seasons since 2011, in 154 starts, he is 82-26 with a 2.82 ERA (309 ER in 986.2 IP) and .232 opponents average with 956 strikeouts and 228 walks, a 4.19 strikeouts-to-walks ratio. His team is 106-48 in thos starts.

In 43 career games (42 starts) vs. NL West opponents (Rockies, Dodgers, Padres and Giants), he is 22-4 with a 2.58 ERA (77 ER in 269.0 IP) and .234 opponents average with 262 strikeouts and 60 walks.

In 10 career starts at Chase Field, he is 6-2 with a 3.34 ERA (23 ER in 62.0 IP) and .263 opponents average with 58 strikeouts and 19 walks. Last season, he tossed 15.0 scoreless frames over 2 starts at Chase Field.

Since 2008 (min. 1,000.0 IP), Greinke has 8 straight seasons of double-digit wins, ranks first in winning percentage (.676), second in wins (121), third in WAR (41.7), fifth in ERA (2.99), sixth in strikeouts (1,562) and strikeouts-to-walk ratio (4.01), seventh in innings (1,638.1 IP), eighth in strikeouts-per-9.0-innings (8.58), 13th in walks-per-9.0-innings (2.14)

His 12 seasons have included time with the Kansas City Royals (2004-10), Milwaukee Brewers (2011-12), Los Angeles Angels (2012) and Dodgers (2013-15). In 364 career games (323 starts), he is 142-93 (.604) with a 3.35 ERA (779 ER in 2,094.2 IP) and .248 opponents average with 1,887 strikeouts and 508 walks. In 323 career starts, he is 137-92 (.598) with a 3.34 ERA (755 ER in 2,035.0 IP) and .249 opponents average with 1,827 strikeouts and 490 walks. His team is 175-148 in his starts. Offensively, he is a career .220 hitter (64-for-291) with 16 doubles, 6 homers, 14 RBI and 16 walks.