Dodgers had considered getting Zack Greinke back from Arizona

Ken Rosenthal introduced the concept of the Dodgers rescuing their former ace, Zach Greinke, from a lost Diamondbacks season in Arizona this morning, then immediately threw water on it.

“It's not going to happen, not yet and maybe not ever.”

So as this comes to light, just keep that in mind. This is a non-thing.

For now.

The way Rosenthal tells it, on Wednesday as time inched toward the cut-off for players to be a part of a team’s post season roster, the Dodgers were staring at the clock. It’s no secret that Los Angeles has been positively ravaged by injury this season, and nowhere has that hurt them more than their starting rotation, which used to feature Clayton Kershaw.

Kershaw’s ability to will himself into returning aside, it makes total sense that L.A. would be rolling some last minute adjustments around in their heads as the calendar flips to September. Rosenthal says that while the Dodgers did start a conversation, it was “not substantive” and “did not advance.” That does not mean that when the off-season begins, the Dodgers won’t be right back on the phone with whoever is running the D’backs front office at that point with Greinke’s names on their lips.

Greinke made a good impression on the Dodgers from 2013-15, when he threw over 600 innings for them and accrued a 2.30 ERA and 17.5 WAR while amassing a collection of Cy Young votes, All-Star Game appearances, Gold Gloves, a Silver Slugger, and even MVP votes in 2015. Watching him throw for a division rival this season was likely painful, even if his numbers weren’t as good with Arizona.

After snatching Greinke out from under the Giants and Dodgers this past winter, Arizona seemed ready to build around the ace into the future. But after a real down year in the desert, the Diamondbacks might be ready to shake things up, and if they do, the remaining $172.5 million on Greinke’s contract might be cathartic for them to dump. Should they move in that direction, the Dodgers could be waiting nearby.