The Dodgers and Giants can’t panic after losing Zack Greinke sweepstakes
The Arizona Diamondbacks shocked the baseball world on Friday, reaching a six-year, $206.5 million agreement with free agent Zack Greinke.
As shocked as those on the outside looking in were though, we imagine it pales in comparison to the shock felt by Greinke’s top two suitors, the Los Angeles Dodgers, whom Greinke played for each of the last three seasons, and the San Francisco Giants.
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Friday was decision day, and those two rival franchises figured Greinke’s decision boiled down to one or the other. That’s how it had been reported all week, and that’s how it remained until late Friday afternoon, when Arizona moved to the forefront. Granted, we’re sure there’s some relief Greinke didn’t sign with the other, but now both are forced to regroup leading into the winter meetings on Monday after investing much time and energy into re-signing and/or recruiting Greinke.
It’s not an ideal scenario, but if there’s one thing both teams shouldn’t do, it’s panic.
Yeah, they’re hurting right now. Yeah, they’re on their heels a bit. But we can’t feel too terrible for these perennial contenders, and they shouldn’t feel bad for themselves. Both rosters are equipped to contend again in 2016, and both general managers still have plenty of money to throw at free agents. They’re going to land somebody eventually, perhaps even more than one free agent.
At what price though, and can any signing or combination of signings possibly make the same impact that signing Greinke would have. Those are fair questions. The honest answer to the second part anyway is probably not, unless they’re able to sign a second tier pitcher — think Mike Leake, Jeff Samardzija or Hisashi Iwakuma — to go along with a top hitter. Johnny Cueto by himself wouldn’t be a bad fallback either, but the desire several teams will likely have to sign him could drive his price sky-high.
There’s no reason or great benefit to being reactionary or unnecessarily aggressive in the coming days. Yes, the Dodgers and Giants have work to do, but not allowing Friday’s events to force the issue is key. They don’t need to answer with a splashy move this weekend or even at the winter meetings. Not if the deal doesn’t make sense.
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By not signing Greinke, that means a lot of money wasn’t spent, which means both teams can be creative with how it’s used. Perhaps there are opportunities to spread the money around, allowing them more bang for their buck. Maybe there’s a trade they didn’t envision being possible or needing to be explored that’s now worth exploring. It’s a time now to weigh several options, not go all in on the next big fish in a race to appease an annoyed fanbase.
If they’ve already determined Cueto is worth it, then so be it, that’s the play. It just shouldn’t be driven by public pressure, which given the stature of both franchises can be difficult to ignore.
We should have a good idea very soon about how the Dodgers and Giants plan to move forward. The intrigue over which team strikes first and who they acquire should easily match the intrigue eading up to Greinke’s decision. The Dodgers and Giants are in the spotlight now, and they now know the Diamondbacks, meaning the next big move needs to pay off.
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Mark Townsend is a writer for Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter! Follow @Townie813
