It will be a surprise if Milwaukee Brewers right-hander Zack Greinke is not pitching for a team other than the Milwaukee Brewers by August 1, reports Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports.
Get ready for a month of nonstop Greinke trade updates. It will be a surprise if he’s not pitching elsewhere by Aug. 1.
Earlier this week, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports reported that the Brewers are preparing to trade Greinke if they are unable to reach an agreement on a long-term contract extension. Morosi says that, at this point, there is no evidence the sides are making progress on such a deal.
Morosi believes the Texas Rangers, who scouted Greinke’s start yesterday, are the most obvious fit for the 2009 American League Cy Young Award winner. The Rangers now have four starting pitchers on the disabled list; Colby Lewis, Neftali Feliz, Derek Holland and Alexi Ogando. Morosi also notes the Rangers have tried to acquire Greinke before.
Outside of Texas, Morosi lists the Atlanta Braves, Los Angeles Dodgers, St. Louis Cardinals, New York Yankees, Baltimore Orioles, Chicago White Sox and Cleveland Indians as teams that could potentially express interest in Greinke.
While Morosi doesn’t believe the Brewers want to get rid of Greinke, he does call their motivation to trade their ace "high" and expects the right-hander to be dealt between now and the July 31 non-waiver trade deadline.