D-backs and Greinke finalize 6-year contract
Following record deal, D-backs unveil new ace in news conference
NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- It's official: Zack Greinke is an Arizona Diamondback.
The team announced Tuesday that it had signed Greinke, who agreed to terms on a six-year, $206.5 million deal last Friday. The D-backs introduced their new ace during a news conference Friday at Chase Field.
"We brought him here because, one, he's the front-end guy you want with your ballclub," D-backs GM Dave Stewart said. "You want him to do a lot of things that he's capable of doing. One, he serves as an example and a mentor to the other guys in our rotation. Two, he will be a stopper for us -- stop losing streaks."
The deal is a record amount of money for the D-backs, with the previous high being $68.5 million as part of Yasmany Tomas' six-year deal last offseason.
Greinke took a physical for the D-backs on Monday.
The bidding for Greinke appeared to be a two-team race between the Dodgers and Giants, but the D-backs decided to jump in the fray Friday and had a deal done within a matter of hours.
• D-backs snagged Greinke in one-day deal
Stewart said Greinke, from a distance, liked what he saw of chief baseball officer Tony La Russa and manager Chip Hale.
"I guess the best way to put it is he's seen Tony from afar, and he's watched the way Tony has handled his teams," Stewart said. "And looking at Chip and how he's handled our club and the hustle of our club and the way that we've played, those things were impressive to him."
The D-backs have made numerous cost-cutting moves the past few years -- dealing contracts like Martin Prado and Bronson Arroyo -- with the idea of pooling the savings to be used this offseason.
With payroll commitments around $60 million for next season and a new television deal with FOX Sports Arizona taking effect, the D-backs felt they were able to afford Greinke's deal.
Greinke will wear No. 21.
Fantasy spin | Fred Zinkie (@FredZinkieMLB)
After leading the Majors in both ERA (1.66) and WHIP (0.84), Greinke would have ranked as a 2016 mixed-league ace no matter where he chose to sign. But since Chase Field is not pitcher-friendly, the right-hander will have to be especially effective in order to again rank among the top-5 fantasy arms. Wise fantasy owners will set expectations for a 2.90 ERA and a 1.08 WHIP in '16, noting that Greinke benefited from a .232 BABIP in '15 that was nearly 70 points lower than his career mark.