Signing Zack Greinke would produce a log jam in the starting rotation of the Texas Rangers. To fix the crowded rotation the Rangers could began to seek trade trade partners for Derek Holland. Holland signed a five-year deal worth $28.5 million in March.
Ken Rosenthal believes that Holland could be packaged with left handed hitting Mike Olt in a deal for Arizona’s Justin Upton. Upton would then be able to take the spot of Josh Hamilton in the lineup who is a free agent.
Arizona has been indicating that they are open to trading Upton. Another potential suitor for Upton is the Atlanta Braves who signed his older brother B.J. to a contract last week. The Upton brothers have spoken to each other about playing together and the Braves have young arms available for trade which is what Arizona is believed to be seeking in return.
Greinke finished the 2012 season15-5 with a 3.48 ERA and a 1.20 WHIP in 34 starts between the Milwaukee Brewers and Los Angeles Angels.
Holland was 12-7 for the Rangers while posting a 4.67 ERA and a 1.22 WHIP. His numbers were a substantial step back from 2011 when he won 16 games and had a 3.95 ERA in his first full season in the Rangers rotation.
Signing Greinke to a contract seems like a large waste of money if it comes at the expense of a serviceable arm such as Holland. The Rangers will pretty much be choosing to pay more for a starting pitcher and then having to find a way to trade away the cheaper one as they seek ways to improve their outfield.
It begs the question if they simply would be better off spending some of that money on an attempt to re-sign Josh Hamilton.
