The Kansas City Royals are unsure if they're trading Zack Greinke but manager Ned Yost plans on keeping him for a couple years. On Tuesday, Yost was asked about Greinke and gushed about, well, everything as he says he's happy "we've got him for two more years."
"He's got a fastball that he can sink, that he cuts a little bit, that he gets up to 97 mph," said Yost. "He's got a put-away slider, a put-away changeup, he's a bona fide No. 1 starter. His competitiveness is unparalleled to anybody I've seen on the mound. He's a dogged competitor, wants to win with every fiber of his being. He's a phenomenal, talented player and we've got him for two more years, and that makes me happy."
Of course personnel decisions fall under the umbrella of the GM and, as much as I like Ned Yost, the Royals had no clue even last spring he'd be the manager of the team.
Yost went on to recognize that Greinke wants to win and the window for that is short.
"But Zack's like all of us, he wants to win, and Zack knows there's a short window to win. His career is not going to last forever and he wants to maximize the time he has. And we're trying to speed up the process for him -- we're trying to win, too. And when is that time going to come? Probably a year or two down the road, but he's of a mind that 'I want to win.' So if a situation develops and it makes sense for us, it's something we'll surely consider."
What makes sense for the Royals is a bounty in return.
Royals fans have seen too often this team trade away talent so management is already communicating to its fans that they they are asking for a ridiculous amount in return, and they're prepared to head into next season with Greinke on the roster (which is the source of much of their leverage). That way if/when Greinke is traded, the Royals can say they held out for a ridiculous offer and got it.
For some Royals fans, it'll just be the next Johnny Damon or Carlos Beltran.