Greinke has communicated to teams that he plans to continue his pitching career in 2024, Jon Morosi of MLB Network reports.
Greinke was said to be considering retirement as of a month ago, but he has begun to prepare for what will be his 21st major-league season and is now open to contract talks with any interested club. The 40-year-old right-hander struggled to a 5.06 ERA over 142.1 innings with the Royals in 2023, but he still has some of the best command in the game and is only 21 strikeouts away from reaching the 3,000-strikeout career milestone.
Royals general manager J.J. Picollo said Tuesday that Greinke is still deciding whether or not he will pitch next year, Jon Morosi of MLB Network reports.
Greinke posted the second-worst ERA (5.06) of his career in 2023 and hit age 40 a couple of weeks ago, but it sounds like there is at least a possibility that the free-agent right-hander could look to return in 2024 for what would be his 21st major-league season. He still has impeccable command and might have a landing spot back in Kansas City if that appeals to him.
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Royals' Zack Greinke: Earns second win of season
Rotowire
Greinke (2-15) earned the win Sunday, allowing one run on four hits and two walks over five innings in a 5-2 victory over the Yankees. He struck out two.
Greinke earned his first win since May 3, in a season with his fewest total wins since 2006. The only damage occurred in the sixth inning when Taylor Clarke took over for Greinke and allowed an inherited runner to score. The right-hander had one of the poorer seasons of his storied career, pitching to a 5.06 ERA and 1.27 WHIP with 97 strikeouts across 142.1 innings.
Royals' Zack Greinke: Five scoreless innings Tuesday
Rotowire
Greinke did not factor into the decision Tuesday, allowing one hit and one walk over five scoreless innings against Detroit. He struck out five.
The only hit allowed by the 39-year-old was a leadoff single to Parker Meadows, who was quickly erased on a pickoff. Despite exiting with a lead after five scoreless frames, Greinke was unable to secure his elusive second win thanks to Detroit's late rally. In the seven-start stretch since Greinke last completed five innings, he accumulated an 0-4 record with a 5.61 ERA, 1.52 WHIP and 7.4 K/9 across 25.2 innings. The veteran will likely close out his 20th big-league campaign with a 1-15 record, a 5.18 ERA, a 1.27 WHIP and just 95 strikeouts across 137.1 innings.
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Royals' Zack Greinke: Short start again Wednesday
Rotowire
Greinke allowed two runs on five hits and struck out five without walking a batter over 3.2 innings versus the Guardians on Wednesday. He did not factor in the decision.
Greinke threw 57 pitches (42 strikes) this time after he was limited to 48 pitches versus the Astros last Friday. It appears the 39-year-old is being eased toward the end of the season, especially after missing time with an elbow injury in August. He hasn't gone more than 4.2 innings in any of his six appearances since his return, which essentially takes him out of the conversation for wins if he continues to start games. Greinke has a 5.37 ERA, 1.31 WHIP and 90:20 K:BB through 132.1 innings over 28 appearances (25 starts) this season. He'll likely continue to work in tandem with Angel Zerpa, though with just nine games remaining on the Royals' schedule, Greinke may receive only one more outing.
Greinke did not factor into the decision Friday as the Royals downed the Astros 4-2, giving up three hits and a walk over two scoreless innings. He struck out one.
The 39-year-old got the start but was limited to 48 pitches (28 strikes) before being lifted in favor of Angel Zerpa, who wound up getting the win. It was Greinke's shortest appearance of the season by innings, although he did toss 44 pitches in a much more efficient five-inning outing May 3 against the Orioles -- his last, and only, win of the season. He hasn't completed five frames in any of his last six games, posting a 5.73 ERA, 1.55 WHIP and 16:5 K:BB through 22 innings over that stretch.
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Royals' Zack Greinke: Stuck with another loss
Rotowire
Greinke (1-15) took the loss Saturday as the Royals fell 5-1 to the Blue Jays, giving up four runs on six hits and a walk over 3.2 relief innings. He struck out four.
Entering the game in the third inning after James McArthur had given Kansas City two scoreless innings as the opener, Greinke quickly dug a hole his offense couldn't climb out of. The veteran righty's only win of the season came May 3; since then, he's gone 0-10 with a 5.56 ERA and 59:13 K:BB through 90.2 innings. Greinke is two losses shy of tying his career-worst performance in that category, which he set as a fresh-faced 21-year-old in 2005 when he went 5-17. He's also 34 strikeouts shy of 3,000 for his career, but he would need a massive surge to reach that mark before the end of 2023.
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Royals' Zack Greinke: Bulk pitcher Saturday
Rotowire
Greinke will work in bulk relief behind opener James McArthur in Saturday's game at Toronto, Jaylon T. Thompson of The Kansas City Star reports.
In his last turn through the rotation last weekend versus the Red Sox, Greinke entered the game behind Taylor Clarke, failing to record a strikeout over 3.2 innings while giving up three earned runs on five hits and one hit. Despite Greinke's poor results the last time out, the Royals will deploy him in a bulk role once again. The veteran righty carries a 5.34 ERA, 1.28 WHIP and 80:18 K:BB over 123 innings this season with Kansas City.
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Royals' Zack Greinke: Takes loss in bulk relief
Rotowire
Greinke (1-14) took the loss Sunday against the Red Sox. He allowed three runs on five hits and one walk over 3.2 innings. He did not record a strikeout.
Greinke followed opener Taylor Clarke -- who tossed a perfect first frame -- and tossed 3.2 innings of bulk relief. All of the damage against Greinke came on one swing of the bat as Masataka Yoshida tagged him for a three-run home run in the fourth frame. Greinke now owns the second most losses in MLB and hasn't logged a win since May 3. He's tentatively scheduled to take on the Blue Jays in Toronto for his next start.
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Royals' Zack Greinke: On tap for bulk relief
Rotowire
Greinke will be used in bulk relief for the Royals in Sunday's game versus the Red Sox, Anne Rogers of MLB.com reports.
Taylor Clarke will serve as the opener for Kansas City and likely work an inning or two before giving way to Greinke, who will be pitching out of the bullpen for the second time this season. In his return from the injured list Aug. 22, Greinke tossed four scoreless frames behind opener Angel Zerpa before returning to a traditional starting role his last time out. He'll carry a 1-13 record and 5.28 ERA into action Sunday.
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Royals' Zack Greinke: Drops to 1-13
Rotowire
Greinke (1-13) took the loss against Pittsburgh on Monday, allowing two runs on six hits and two walks while striking out two batters over 4.2 innings.
Greinke came out of the bullpen in a bulk-relief role his last time out due to the fact he was coming off an IL stint with an elbow injury and didn't log any rehab appearances. The veteran was back working as a traditional starter Monday, though he may have still been moderately limited since he threw only 76 pitches. Greinke didn't pitch particularly poorly, giving up just two runs over his 4.2 frames, but he was still tagged with the loss since the Royals were shut out by Pirates starter Johan Oviedo. It's been a rough campaign for Greinke in his 19th big-league season -- he's tied for second in the league with 13 losses (only teammate Jordan Lyles has more) and has picked up only one victory while registering a poor 5.28 ERA and 1.27 WHIP over 119.1 innings.
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Royals' Zack Greinke: Returning to starting role Monday
Rotowire
Greinke is scheduled to start Monday's game against the Pirates, Anne Rogers of MLB.com reports.
Since Greinke didn't go on a rehab assignment prior to being activated from the 15-day injured list last Tuesday, the Royals elected to have him piggyback starter Angel Zerpa in their game against the Athletics that day. While making his first relief appearance since 2021, Greinke turned in one of his best outings of the season, striking out five while allowing two hits and no walks over four scoreless innings. He'll settle back into a more traditional starting role Monday, though because he was capped at 53 pitches his last time out, Greinke may not be asked to cover more than five or six innings in his return to the rotation.
