One of the biggest revelations in the Dodgers Camelback Ranch clubhouse on February 19 – the day that pitchers and catchers reported for spring training – was that Dodgers co-ace Zack 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.

As a result of the injection, Greinke began the 2015 season having made only four spring training starts instead of the six that Clayton Kershaw had made and the five that both Brandon McCarthy and Brett Anderson had made. But in spite of being a bit behind the other starters and after a shaky final spring training start in which he allowed four runs (two earned) on five hits in 3.2 innings, the 31-year-old Orlando, FL native insisted that he was perfectly healthy.

“Everything’s fine, just not pitching that great,” said Greinke. “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.”

After his less-than-stellar spring and a questionable right elbow, many thought that Greinke would be foolish to opt out of his six-year/$147 million contract with the Dodgers. But after his brilliant first half, they now think that he would be foolish not to. (Photo credit – Ron Cervenka)

But with the “lubricating injection” revelation and a rough final spring training outing, Dodgers beat writers (and fans) were a bit apprehensive about Greinke’s future with the Dodgers for one reason and one reason alone – Greinke has a very unique clause in the six-year / $147 million contract that he signed on December 10, 2012. That clause allows him to opt out of the contract at the end of the 2015 season – this season.

Although it remains a mystery why then Dodgers general manager Ned Colletti (and even more so the Dodgers new ownership group) would ever agree to such a clause, they did. And it is now so very very obvious that Greinke – who currently owns the best ERA in all of baseball (1.58) and is the obvious front runner for the 2015 NL Cy Young award – absolutely positively will exercise that opt-out clause.

But why on earth would Greinke opt out of the guaranteed $71 million still owed to him by the Dodgers through the 2018 season, you ask? Because he will easily command a new multi-year contract – probably in the five or six-year range – that could top the $200 million mark, that’s why.

All of that being said and with Greinke (apparently) wanting to remain with the Dodgers, it could be the Dodgers themselves who will win the Zack Greinke bidding war that is likely to occur immediately following the 2015 World Series.

The again, perhaps it won’t.

To the casual observer, Guggenheim Baseball Management group (aka: Dodgers ownership) are slowly but surely rebuilding the Dodgers farm system to recapture a market that they once absolutely dominated (and, in fact, invented). But to the trained observer, they have flat out gone hog-wild in doing so – especially in the pitching market. And while the Dodgers have never had the number one overall draft pick in the 50-year history of the MLB draft (and probably never will), former Dodgers scouting director Logan White and his successor Billy Gasparino have acquired some of the best pitching prospects in the world – most notably Julio Urias, Jose De Leon, Grant Holmes and, oh yeah, some guy named Clayton Kershaw. And while Kershaw and Holmes were the Dodgers first-round draft picks in 2006 and 2014 respectively at number seven and number 22 overall (again respectively), Urias was signed as a 16-year-old non-drafted free agent and De Leon in the 24th round of the 2013 MLB First-Year Player Draft. In other words, guys like Logan White (who is now with the Padres organization) and Gasparino know how to find these hidden golden nuggets, regardless of their drafting order.

Although most consider 18-year-old Mexican phenom Julio Urias the Dodgers top pitching prospect, 22-year-old right-hander Jose De Leon may be the most MLB-ready between the two.
(Photo credit – Rich Crimi)

With so much young pitching talent once again in the Dodgers farm system, Dodgers President of Baseball Operations Andrew Friedman and general manager Farhan Zaidi may not be as inclined to re-sign Greinke as Dodgers President and CEO Stan Kasten (who no longer handles these matters) and Ned Colletti might have been. Friedman and Zaidi have also shown us that they are more than willing to roll the dice on signing former top-round draft picks who suffered injuries (including Tommy John surgery recipients) that other teams aren’t (or weren’t) willing to take a chance on.

However, and this is a huge however, it is impossible to argue that Zack Greinke isn’t still one of the very best pitchers in the game today or that he isn’t enjoying the best season of his 12-year MLB career (win-loss record notwithstanding) – perhaps even better than his 2009 AL Cy Young award-winning season with the Kansas City Royals. As such, it is becoming more and more likely with each subsequent (great) outing that the Dodgers may actually be the front runners to re-sign the eccentric right-hander.

They also may be the only team that will be able to afford him.