It’s Beginning to Look a lot Like Christmas…

I was offline for most of the day busy with my daughter, plus I was ready to accept that Zack Greinke was most likely going to sign with the Texas Rangers instead of the Dodgers. The last few days the tweets surrounding Greinke’s decision were making it sound like he had made the decision to pitch for the Rangers organization, but I should have known better. A deal isn’t made from rumors and hearsay. I’m sure it was a difficult decision for Greinke, his agent, and his family to make. Scott texted me at 5:45 p.m. with the exciting news that Greinke and the Dodgers were close to reaching a deal. Well, that made my night!

The former Cy Young Award winner battle anxiety and depression in the past. Photo: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports

The offseason is often filled with surprising trades and signings. It’s a really fun part of Major League Baseball. Like trading baseball cards as a kid, teams swap players in order to try to put the best collection together as possible. The Guggenheim Baseball Management team has said that they are trying to assemble a dream team roster, and tonight’s Greinke announcement was a true reflection of their call to action. The Dodgers now have the best 1-2 pitchers in all of baseball with Clayton Kershaw and Zack Greinke. And they might not even be done just yet…

The Dodgers are also still negotiating with Scott Boras who represents the Korean lefty Ryu Hyun-Jin. The deadline to sign him is tomorrow afternoon at 2 p.m. PT. The negotiations will likely go down to the wire, but I’m feeling confident that the Dodgers can make a deal happen.

Anibal Sanchez remains unsigned, and it’s not totally out of the realm of possibilities that the Dodgers could also sign him or another free agent pitcher in addition to Greinke this offseason. They could also pull a trade to land another pitcher as well. Ned Colletti has mentioned several times that if they had the opportunity to sign two starting pitchers, they would do so.

Brilliant pitching has always been a Dodger tradition. The new ownership knows this,

Zack Greinke comes to the Dodgers and Joe Blanton goes to the Angels. Sounds fair to me! Photo: Kirby Lee/Image of Sport-USA TODAY Sports

and they are doing their best to raise the bar even higher with this Greinke signing. The Dodgers are not satisfied with mediocrity and second place finishes. The GBM knows that in order to win world championships, elite talent must be not only signed via free agency but also cultivated within the farm system. This winter the Dodgers have finally begun the hard work in rebuilding and revitalizing their almost nonexistent international player development and scouting department, but they are also now able to pursue top tier players with their new monetary resources.

Once official on Monday, the Dodgers will make Zack Greinke the highest paid right-handed pitcher in Major League history. A reported 6-year $147 million contract is a mind boggling deal for us Dodger fans whom a year ago were shaking our heads to the Aaron Harang and Chris Capuano signings. What a difference a year makes.

Last season I would look forward to Kershaw starts since every five days I could almost be guaranteed a win, and on the subsequent four days it was always iffy. Now, with Greinke, the Dodger rotation will be a force to be reckoned with especially if Billingsley is healthy and can string two strong season halves together. The Dodgers will most likely try to move Aaron Harang or Chris Capuano since they have too many starting pitchers as of right now. Yet that is not a bad problem to have. Heck, let’s sign Anibal Sanchez or trade for James Shields and call it a day.