MLB Rumors: Royals 'Leaving the Possibility Open' for Zack Greinke Reunion

While getting the development of their young pitchers back on track is a priority for the Kansas City Royals, the team hasn't closed the door on one-time ace Zack Greinke.

The Athletic's Ken Rosenthal reported Monday the Royals are "leaving the possibility open," but the right-hander "probably would need to accept a low base salary that could grow with incentives based on innings pitched."

Greinke spent his first seven seasons in MLB with Kansas City and established himself as an elite starting pitcher, winning the American League Cy Young Award and making the All-Star team in 2009.

The 39-year-old returned to the Royals for the 2022 season, and he remained effective for a pitcher of his age. In 26 starts, he went 4-9 with a 3.68 ERA and a 4.03 FIP.

At a time when more pitchers are hitting triple-digit velocity than ever, Greinke was an anomaly as his sub-90 mph fastball caused trouble for opposing batters.

The Royals have a new manager, Matt Quatraro, and J.J. Picollo is in his first offseason running the front office. To the extent that you can start a new rebuild with an organization that hasn't had a winning record for seven years, that's what Kansas City is doing.

Signing Greinke would largely be a sentimental play because his individual contributions are unlikely to change the team's trajectory in 2023. Rotation depth isn't a pressing need after the Royals signed Jordan Lyles and Ryan Yarbrough.

But fans and the organization would enjoy seeing the six-time All-Star end his career in Kansas City. He's fourth in franchise history in pitching WAR (28.8) and eighth in innings (1,245), per Baseball Reference.