Could Zack Greinke Rejoin Kansas City Royals?

The Kansas City Royals are not going to trade for Zack Greinke before the MLB trade deadline. Let's get that much out of the way. The Royals are too far back from contention to go for it and unloading several prospects for an arm would be an odd move just a couple years from being on the exact side of that equation with the Milwaukee Brewers. However, Jon Heyman brings up an interesting possibility that the Royals could actually sign Greinke on the open market this fall, a move that would be interesting for a number of reasons.

Heyman writes, "Winning is the key for Greinke, and they Royals do have some talented young pitching prospects, especially Jake Odorizzi and Yordano Ventura, who opposed each other in the All-Star Futures Game here Sunday, plus also Chris Dwyer and Mike Montogomery. In any case, Greinke would likely want to evaluate any team's chances before committing to them, and that includes the Royals. Hard-throwing lefthander Danny Duffy impressed Greinke before going down with an elbow injury."

Most of the attention would be about the reunion for Greinke and the Royals and for good reason. Greinke is arguably the best pitcher and player on the Royals roster since the stars from the 1985 World Series champs faded away. A return would bode well for overall momentum, fan interest, merch sales and, well, basically all things Royals related.

For the pitcher, it would be about coming home and hopefully finishing what he set out to do when he left the Royals, which is winning a World Series title. It would be the ultimate irony if he came back to Kansas City to do just that, but it also makes for a compelling story line.

For the Royals, it's ultimately a win on the field if Greinke were to seriously consider it. The position players are in place and the line-up will only continue to produce more and more as the hitters mature and grow and adjust at the Major League level. Wil Myers is going to soon become the latest addition to the heart of a line-up that's looking awfully loaded. It would be the run support that Greinke never had his first go-around in KC.

On the mound, it would level out a rotation that can never seem to gain any sense of stability. Between injuries and the predicted pitching woes from unstable performers, the Kansas City rotation has been a nightmare this season. The reliable Bruce Chen has broken down, Danny Duffy and Felipe Paulino been injured, Luke Hochevar still hasn't broken through, Aaron Crow had to move to the pen, Jonathan Sanchez was more unstable than advertised in San Francisco and some of the more heralded prospects still haven't landed.

In short, Greinke is needed. And if he's up for it, Dayton Moore should do all he can to woo the former Cy Young winner back to Kansas City. An ace is needed and Greinke would write the ideal story for all parties involved.