As every Dodger fan knows, former American League Cy Young award winner Zack Greinke is currently tied in wins at 5-0 with former American League Cy Young award winner Bartolo Colon, both of whom now pitch in the National League with the Dodgers and Mets respectively. And while there is still a long way to go until the Baseball Writers Association of America cast their votes for this year’s Cy Young award winners – a very long way – both of these guys are arguably the front runners after the first month of the new season. But they both have something else in common:

• Bartolo Colon is currently in the final year of his two-year/$20 million contract with the Mets with no options in play.
• Zack Greinke is currently in the third year of his (once MLB record-setting) six-year/$147 million contract with the Dodgers; however, he has an opt-out clause in his contract at the end of this season.

In other words, the two are basically free agents as soon as the 2015 World Series concludes – Colon as a free agent free agent and Greinke as a free agent unless he agrees to return to the Dodgers for the final three years of his contract, for which he would receive the remaining $71 million still owed to him under the contract. That’s $71 million guaranteed.

When pitchers and catchers reported for spring training back on February 19, reporters were surprised when Dodgers manager Don Mattingly informed them that Greinke had received a “lubricating injection” in his right elbow earlier that same morning – something that (unknown to reporters) he had done in the two previous spring training camps as well. And though the injection was “…a common spring thing since we’ve had him” (according to Mattingly), it immediately raised a few eyebrows among the gathered media.

After his mediocre spring and his elbow concerns, most thought that Zack Greinke would be foolish to opt out of his six-year/$147 million contract with the Dodgers. But after his great start to the 2015 season, they now think that he would be foolish not to. (Photo credit – Ron Cervenka)

Greinke ended up making four spring training starts in which he was 1-1 with a 3.55 ERA. He allowed seven runs on 11 hits (including one home run), walked six and struck out 11 in his 12.2 innings of work. When asked how his elbow felt after his final spring training start on March 27 against the Giants – an outing in which he allowed four runs (two earned) on five hits in 3.2 innings – Greinke was brief and to the point.

“Everything’s fine, just not pitching that great,” Greinke said. “My last start was good, so I guess [it was] just one of those days. It happens in the season where you have bad games also.”

With all of these Greinke unpleasantries now out in the open, Dodger fans and the media began to suspect that Greinke was headed for a down and potentially injury-ridden season, thus making it highly likely that he would waive his opt-out clause and remain with the Dodgers for three more iffy seasons. But with his Cy Young-esque start to the 2015 season, he would now be absolutely foolish not to opt out of his current contract with the Dodgers.

Why, you ask? Because as it stands right now, Zack Greinke could very well become the most sought-after top-of-the-rotation starting pitcher at the conclusion of this season and could command a multi-year contract that would dwarf the three-year/$71 million still owed to him by the Dodgers through the 2018 season. It is not beyond the realm of possibility – in fact it is quite likely – that Greinke will exceed the anticipated $200 million-plus contracts that it will take to land guys like Johnny Cueto, David Price, Scott Kazmir, Doug Fister and Jordan Zimmerman.

So how is it that Greinke might become the top dog this off-season? A simple glance at his 2015 numbers might answer this question. Through his first six starts of the regular season (he had a no-decision on April 7) the 31-year-old Orlando, Florida native is, as noted, 5-0. In addition to being tied in wins with Colon, Greinke is second in the NL with his 1.56 ERA behind Pittsburgh’s A.J. Burnett’s 1.45 ERA. He is tied for 10th in strikeouts with 34, his .084 WHIP is the lowest in the league and his .174 batting average against is the fourth best.

With several top pitching prospects down on the Dodgers farm and an unusually large starting pitching free agent market on tap this coming off-season, it seems unlikely that Dodgers President of Baseball Operations Andrew Friedman and Dodgers general manager Farhan Zaidi would be willing to pay Greinke the money that it would take to keep him in a Dodger uniform. It’s pretty much a given that top prospect Julio Urias will be in the Dodgers starting rotation in 2016 (perhaps even sooner) and former first-round draft picks Zach Lee and Chris Anderson will undoubtedly be given a shot at making the starting rotation next spring. That said, neither Friedman or Zaidi, nor anyone from the Greinke camp, have given any indication that talks have even started yet regarding Greinke’s opt-out clause or the possibility of renegotiating a new contract with the eccentric right-hander.

But one thing is absolutely for certain – Zack Greinke is gonna get PAID.