Giants rumors: Seen as a 'big threat' to sign Zack Greinke

According to Jon Heyman, not only are the Giants a serious threat to sign Zack Greinke, but some even think they might be the favorite.

"The Giants are very much interested in Greinke by all appearances, and may well have made him their No. 1 target. The Giants are actually said to have interest in acquiring two starting pitchers, so it remains to be seen whether they can compete financially with the Dodgers, who are aiming to bring Greinke back into the fold."

Greinke is coming off a stellar year in which he finished 2nd for the Cy Young, and posted an ERA of 1.66, the lowest single season figure since 1964 (Dean Chance, 1.65).

Despite heading into his age 32 season, Greinke is in line for an enormous payday, as he's expected to age more gracefully than most pitchers do. His former coach, Rick Honeycutt recently compared him to one of the all-time greats, Greg Maddux.

"You've seen him each year we've had him, and each year he gets better as the season goes on. He's in great shape, he adds and subtracts to his pitches when he wants to. He can continue to pitch just like Maddux into his 40s. He has that ability, because he has the pitches already and makes the adjustments with the pitches he has."

Since 2008, when he was still with the Royals, Greinke has posted an fWAR of at least 3.4, and has been remarkably consistent. Based on various projections, Grinke is expected to sign a contract that will pay him north of $150 million, and could cover as many as six years.

While the Giants are viewed as a threat to land Greinke, the Dodgers will likely have the last say, as no team in baseball has the financial resources that they do.