Milwaukee pitcher Zack Greinke could be switching uniforms as the non-waiver trade deadline quickly approaches on July 31. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast, File)
PHILADELPHIA -- The next week looks like it's going to be a wild one as far as trade rumors are concerned.
Early Monday afternoon word was the Atlanta Braves had acquired pitcher Ryan Dempster from the Chicago Cubs, only to see the reports shot down a short time later. For a team like the Milwaukee Brewers, which has to decide by July 31 whether to keep Zack Greinke or trade him, the uncertainty can be unsettling.
"I know that there's a lot of teams that are going to be interested in Zack," manager Ron Roenicke said before the Brewers' game with the Philadelphia Phillies at Citizens Bank Park. "There's no question about it.
"I talked at length with (general manager) Doug (Melvin) today. I know all these things are possibilities. I don't like to go about my day thinking about those things happening. I like to know what we have, what I think we need to do and really concentrate on those areas."
Greinke (9-3 with a 3.57 earned-run average) is scheduled to pitch Tuesday against the Phillies, his first start in 11 days.
The right-hander is one of a handful of pitchers being eyed by other teams looking to bolster their rotations. Atlanta, Baltimore, Texas and the Los Angeles Angels are among those rumored to have interest.
Late last week, Greinke confirmed Milwaukee offered him a lucrative contract extension -- reportedly for five years and in excess of $100 million.
If he doesn't accept, the Brewers are likely to trade him because they're in fourth place in
the National League Central Division and have shown no signs of putting together a lengthy winning streak.The Brewers would only receive a supplemental first-round pick if they kept him for the rest of the year and another team signed him in the off-season.
Roenicke said Greinke appears to be dealing with the situation as well as could be expected.
"In our discussions where he stops by and talks to me, he's been good," he said. "Lately he feels good about trying to get back in his routine and with the bullpen yesterday, so hopefully everything's back to normal with him. I know it can't be 100 percent with him, because of what's been going on with all the talks and the trade rumors.
"I don't care who you are, you can't not listen to those things. When you're thinking about the possibility of maybe going to another team, it's not a real comfortable feeling."
Greinke had his last turn in the rotation skipped so he could "recharge his batteries," as Melvin put it.
Greinke's last start came on July 13, the last of three consecutive turns for him after he was ejected four pitches into a start on July 7 in Houston and then pitched three ineffective innings the next day. He hasn't turned in a dominating start since June 22, when he pitched a nine-inning, three-hit shutout against the Chicago White Sox.
Roenicke took the blame for pushing Greinke too far with the three starts in seven days.
"I think most of it was getting to where physically he felt well," Roenicke said. "We pitched him and then pitched him the next day, he wasn't the same that next day. Physically he thought he would be, but he wasn't. Then when we pitched him five days later with a bullpen in between, physically he did not feel the same.
"The arm strength, the rhythm, everything didn't feel right to him."
Roenicke said he hoped the time off, as well as a solid bullpen session on Sunday, will get Greinke back on track. The scouts expected to be in attendance to watch his start Tuesday undoubtedly would like to see Greinke at his best as well.
"From what I see from the bullpen yesterday, in talking with him, he said he feels good," said Roenicke. "I don't want to say 100 percent because I don't know how much mentally is going on with him. The physical part, I would think he'd be fine. But you never know until he gets out and starts and then the bullpen in between and then the next start.
"I think we'll see over the next 3-4 starts exactly what that did to him and how bad it kind of messed him up."
Whether those starts come in a Brewers uniform remains to be seen.
No comments:
Post a Comment