The Dodgers stuck to their guns, but now they may not have enough ammunition.
Los Angeles had a bad day Friday when free-agent pitcher Zack Greinke, who won 19 games for the Dodgers in 2015, signed a six-year, $206 million deal with NL West rival Arizona.
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Despite Greinke posting the lowest ERA in the last 20 years at 1.66 this past season, Los Angeles management ultimately decided he wasn't worth the extra $51 million it was going to take to keep him in Dodger blue.
L.A. offered the 32-year-old Greinke a five-year deal worth $155 million, according to ESPN, based on reports.
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The Dodgers rotation, behind 27-year-old ace Clayton Kershaw, has a lot of question marks, and suddenly the team is in danger of wasting the best years of the best pitcher in baseball.
The lead paragraph in The Los Angeles Times' report on Greinke signing with the Diamondbacks posed a legitimate question that seemed inconceivable even after the Dodgers lost in the NLDS in five games to the Mets.
"Will the Dodgers miss the playoffs next year?" The Times asked. "The question gained a significant amount of gravity Friday, as the Dodgers received word that Zack Greinke wouldn't return next season."
Kershaw has won the National League Cy Young Award three times in the last six years -- he was second in voting in 2012 and third last season -- and the 2014 NL MVP has a 114-56 career record.
But if Los Angeles misses out on the playoffs in 2016, they'll enter the season with a new manager in Dave Roberts and without hitting coach Mark McGwire, who is joining the Padres coaching staff next season, Kershaw will be 29 in 2017 and he will be in his 10th season. It's natural to assume that he can't continue to be the best pitcher in baseball for eight more years.
Then again, the Dodgers failed even to get to the World Series in the three seasons Kershaw and Greinke were together, and Greinke was 51-15 with a 2.30 ERA as a Dodger. So their argument is why commit $200 million to Greinke if that won't guarantee at least an NL pennant?
But will Kershaw still be dominant when Los Angeles retools?
The Dodgers could be taking a shot in the dark by letting Greinke escape.
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