Zack Greinke Rumors: Rangers Reportedly Interested in Signing Talented Pitcher

The Texas Rangers "are seriously considering going after free-agent right-hander Zack Greinke," according to T.R. Sullivan of MLB.com. That’s no surprise considering the team was a player in trying to work out a deal for the Milwaukee Brewers pitcher before the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim swooped in.

Greinke, who was shipped to the Angels at last season’s trade deadline, is the cream of the crop when it comes to free-agent starting pitching this offseason. In 34 starts between his time in Milwaukee and L.A. last season, the righty went 15-5 with a 3.48 ERA and totaled 300 strikeouts.

Because of that, he’ll demand a king’s ransom from the highest bidder.

That’s especially true because the Angels have made re-signing Greinke their top priority of the offseason, according to the same report by Sullivan.

Texas’ late-season collapse in which the team dropped nine of its final 13 games was a large result of an offensive slump at the worst possible time and a pitching staff that wasn’t able to stop the bleeding.

But those struggles could be rectified by bringing in another top-level talent to the rotation this offseason.

If the Rangers can bring Greinke to Arlington, they will have finalized a formidable rotation with the likes of Yu Darvish, Derek Holland, Matt Harrison and the projected return of Alexi Ogando.

They’ll also have starters Neftali Feliz and Colby Lewis rehabbing from surgeries, but Feliz will not be readily available for the most part in 2013, and Lewis will not be ready to start the season.

Also, with outfielder Josh Hamilton likely to attract a large contract elsewhere this offseason, they’ll have the financial room to make a serious run at convincing him to come to Texas.

The only question that remains is, how badly do the Angels want to keep their star right-hander? They brought him in by dealing two Double-A pitching prospects and shortstop Jean Segura.

If they let him slip, the price for the rental on Greinke was too high, considering the team failed to make the playoffs even after adding him to the mix.