Greinke may not be worth it

There?s a pretty good chance that Zack Greinke is going to get the biggest contract ever given to a right-hander within these next six weeks or so. Yet he?s hardly been a spectacular starter these last three years.

Here he is compared to the other top seven starters in this winter?s free agent class:

Z. Greinke?: 3.83 ERA, 582/154 K/BB in 604 IP ? 106 ERA+

A. Sanchez..: 3.70 ERA, 526/182 K/BB in 587 IP ? 109 ERA+

K. Lohse??: 3.76 ERA, 308/115 K/BB in 491 IP ? 101 ERA+

E. Jackson..: 4.10 ERA, 497/198 K/BB in 599 IP ? 100 ERA+

H. Kuroda?: 3.26 ERA, 487/148 K/BB in 618 IP ? 120 ERA+

D. Haren?.: 3.75 ERA, 550/125 K/BB in 650 IP ? 104 ERA+

R. Dempster: 4.04 ERA, 552/220 K/BB in 591 IP ? 102 ERA+

S. Marcum..: 3.62 ERA, 432/141 K/BB in 520 IP ? 113 ERA+

Knowing nothing about any of these pitchers other than their names, one still might say Greinke is the best bet of the group, since he does have top best strikeout-to-walk ratio of the bunch. And, of course, this three-year span doesn?t include Greinke?s Cy Young season in 2009.

Still, it?s three years of quality, but hardly awe-inspiring, pitching for a guy who is almost certainly will earn north of $20 million and maybe as much as $25 million per season in his contract.

And I?m just not at all convinced that he?s worth it. The Angels could have kept Haren for $12 million and gotten another pitcher from this list for about what they?ll spend on Greinke next year, assuming they?re even able to re-sign him. Greinke is going to be bid on as though he?s in the same class as Matt Cain and Cole Hamels, and he hasn?t been. Cain, whose $127.5 million deal with the Giants is currently the biggest ever for a righty, has a 123 ERA+ the last three years. Hamels, whose deal is worth $144 million for six years, has a 134 ERA+.

One other thought: Kuroda has outpitched Greinke three straight seasons. How is he not worth more than $20 million on a one-year deal? It?s pretty crazy that a few teams are going to be willing to guarantee Greinke at least $20 million-$22 million six years out, yet Kuroda might end up settling for $13 million-$15 million on a one-year deal.

Source: http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/2012/11/04/zack-greinke-may-not-be-worth-all-of-the-fuss/related

ny knicks prime rib recipe norad santa tracker vince carter sweet potato casserole safeway standing rib roast