SURPRISE, Ariz.—The Kansas City Royals announced today that they have signed right-handed pitcher Zack Greinke to a one-year contract. Per club policy, terms of the deal were not disclosed. To make room on the 40-man roster, the Royals placed Tyler Zuber on the 60-day Injured List with a right shoulder impingement syndrome.
Greinke, 38, went 11-6 with a 4.16 ERA (79 ER in 171.0 IP) in 30 appearances (29 starts) with the Houston Astros in 2021. He finished second in the American League with a 1.89 BB/9 (36 BB in 171.0 IP) and tied for sixth in quality starts (15). He ended the season with 2,809 career strikeouts, which rank 23rd all-time, three more than Cy Young (2,806).
Greinke, a six-time Rawlings Gold Glove Award winner, has not committed an error since July 5, 2019, going 56 consecutive appearances (55 starts) and 324.1 innings without a miscue.
An 18-year Major League veteran, Greinke’s 219 career wins are second most among active pitchers behind Justin Verlander (226). Greinke, a six-time All-Star, has won two ERA titles in his career, including his Cy Young Award-winning season with Kansas City in 2009, when he led the Majors with a 2.16 ERA (55 ER in 229.1 IP) to mark the fourth (and most recent) Cy Young Award in franchise history.
Greinke was originally selected by Kansas City sixth overall in the 2002 First-Year Player Draft and spent the first seven seasons of his career with the Royals from 2004-10. In 210 outings (169 starts) with the Royals, he went 60-67 with a 3.82 ERA (470 ER in 1108.0 IP). He will be the 33rd player in franchise history to play for the Royals, leave the organization and later return.
Since leaving Kansas City following the 2010 season, Greinke has played with the Milwaukee Brewers (2011-12), Los Angeles Angels (2012), Los Angeles Dodgers (2013-15), Arizona Diamondbacks (2016-19) and Houston Astros (2019-21).
Greinke is one of three pitchers in Major League history with at least six RawlingsGold Glove Awards and six All-Star appearances, including Greg Maddux and Bob Gibson. He is one of three pitchers to win a Cy Young Award, a Rawlings Gold Glove Award and a Louisville Slugger Silver Slugger Award, along with Fernando Valenzuela and Orel Hershiser.
Greinke has pitched in the postseason in eight of his previous 17 big league seasons and is 4-6 in 22 postseason appearances (21 starts) with a 4.14 ERA (52 ER in 113.0 IP).
