Zack Greinke Rumors: Orioles "Team to Watch" for Brewers' Ace

If the Milwaukee Brewers decide to entertain a deal for right-hander Zack Greinke, the Baltimore Orioles are a team to watch, reports Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe.

His future with the Brewers is tied to whether they can work out a reasonable contract extension, and/or whether the Brewers feel they’re still in the hunt. One team to watch for, if the Brewers entertain a deal, is Baltimore. The notion that Greinke needs a smaller market because of his past anxiety issues is still very much in play.

It’s been reported that if the Brewers are unable to agree to a contract extension with Greinke, they will look to trade him this summer. There has been little evidence of progress toward such a deal, so many analysts, such as Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports, predict the 2009 Cy Young Award winner will be pitching elsewhere come August 1.

Cafardo notes that there is still a belief that Greinke needs to pitch for a smaller market club due to his past anxiety issues.

The Orioles are certainly a team in need of starting pitching help if they want to remain in contention. This weekend the O’s optioned two former starters to Triple-A, Tommy Hunter and Brian Matusz.

While there would appear to be a fit, it’s not clear if Baltimore has what it takes to acquire Greinke without surrendering top prospects Manny Machado and Dylan Bundy. To this point, Orioles’ general manager Dan Duquette has said that he’s not looking to part with either player this summer.

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Should the Orioles pursue Greinke?

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