The Royals traded 2009 Cy Young winner Zack Greinke to the Brewers, SI.com has confirmed.

In return for Greinke, Yuniesky Betancourt and $2 million, Kansas City is receiving outfielder Lorenzo Cain, shortstop Alcides Escobar, pitching prospects Jake Odorizzi and a player to be named later. The deal is pending physicals and the commissioner's approval.

Greinke, 27, was 10-14 with a 4.17 ERA last season. He missed much of '06 because of social anxiety disorder, but rebounded and in '09 he won the AL Cy Young after going 16-8 with 2.16 ERA and 242 strikeouts.

In six seasons with the Royals, Greinke is 60-67 with a 3.82 ERA. He was drafted No. 6 overall in 2002.

Greinke will team with Yovani Gallardo to give Milwaukee a pair of All-Stars at the top of its rotation. Earlier this month the Brewers added Shaun Marcum in a trade with the Blue Jays.


Read more: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2010/b ... z18ZYkeJxO


Nice for them. They see that the NL Central is there for the taking, so they are going after it. On the other hand, the Royals are looking to continue to play doormats for the Sox on their way to the WS

_________________

Hmmmm........could this be a 4th place finish for the Cubs?

Wow. I didn't want to see the Royals trade Grienke but this is a really good trade for them. Escobar is a HUGE upgrade over Betencourt and he is under team control for 5 years. Odorizzi (from Highland IL) is a future top of the rotation starter. Cain is a tremendous athlete, a very good defensive player, has above average speed and a little pop in his bat. He could be the Royals opening day center fielder.

With the addition of Greinke (and Marcum) the Brewers are probably the favorites to win the NL central.

The Royals are going to be good in 2012 and better in 2013. Then they will blow it up.

_________________
That's my purse! I don't know you!

In three years this will look like a steal for the Royals. Scheurholzian deal.

The 4th player to be traded to Kansas City is P Jeremy Jeffress.

Jeffress is a very hard thrower who will ultimately end up as a late inning reliever. The risk with Jeffress is he has received 2 drug suspensions and his next will get him kicked out of baseball for good. The positive is allegedly the suspensions were for marijuana use and that is not tested in major league baseball.

I agree. However, I think this is a great deal for both teams. It fills needs for both.

_________________

I would say that the Brewers have a good possibility of winning the N.L. Central crown this year. The Cardinals really have not done much to improve their club. The same can be said of the Reds. With the upgrade in pitching I think the Brewers have given themselves a real good chance to win a division title this year. Houston,Pittsburgh will remain in the toilet.

This means that in three years the board will have been better five years ago?

I'll just continue to cry in the corner in a fetal position while I reconcile the existential dillemma that comes with realizing that Ryan Theriot is now the starting shortstop and leadoff man of my squad.

_________________
1926-1931-1934-1942-1944-1946-1964-1967-1982-2006-2011

The Cardinals have gotten worse this off season so far. I don't think the Reds will play to the same level this year though so it is definitely possible for the Brewers to take the division.

This has also just increased the yankees offer for Big Z.

_________________
That's my purse! I don't know you!

Not to mention the idea of Berkman playing the OF. Bad.

_________________
"He is a loathsome, offensive brute
--yet I can't look away."

And the fact that Pujols will be leaving at the end of the season

_________________

We don't actually know what will happen. But the fact that he hasn't been renegotiated at this point makes me extremely nervous. The greatest (or 2nd greatest) player in the history of the franchise is probably willing to take less than market value to finish his storied career with the only team he has ever known. If Albert is allowed to walk I may not follow the team again for a long time.

_________________
1926-1931-1934-1942-1944-1946-1964-1967-1982-2006-2011

I still think this was a quantity over quality deal. While they might have been in the top 10 for Brewer prospects, I still think they could have found a better deal for Greinke if they looked harder.

Escobar looks to be a decent defensive SS but he's never going to be a big hitter. Cain is fine, but he's probably Corey Hart v2.0 who will hit fine, get about 15HRs and maybe 15-20 steals in a full season. Jeffress will be a nice addition to the pen and a potential closer if they move Soria to the staff soon and the best of the bunch is probably Odorizzi who sounds like a 2/3 type starter with a decent fastball who is still getting better command of his other pitches.

Brewers signed RHP Takashi Saito to a 1 yr deal. The contract could be worth the $3.2M he earned last year with the Braves through appearance and roster bonus incentives.

The Brewers are going all-in for Princes last year. Saito is injury prone but he is an upgrade over what they had in the bullpen last year. He's also a nice backup plan in case the Ax-Man falters as the closer.

What is hair pie?

_________________
O judgment! Thou art fled to brutish beasts,
And men have lost their reason.

Zack Greinke is expected to miss the first three starts of the season due to a left ribcage injury. Adam McCalvy of MLB.com reports that Greinke has a fractured rib. The 27-year-old right-hander was pushed back from his first bullpen session due to a ribcage contusion, which he admitted today occurred while playing basketball.

Dumbass.

Greinke won again today to move his record to 3-1. His ERA is high at 5.79 but his WHIP is 1.14 and in 28 innings has 39 strike outs and only 3 walks. He also hit his first home run today. Greinke is really enjoying pitching in the National League