MLB Rumors: Angels Reportedly Unlikely to Re-Sign Zack Greinke

The Los Angeles Angels may be preparing to watch starting pitcher Zack Greinke walk away in free agency. 

CBS' Danny Knobler reported this juicy rumor: 

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The Angels, once considered the favorite to keep free-agent pitcher Zack Greinke, are now unlikely to sign him, according to sources.

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Knobler is a respected baseball journalist, so there is every reason to believe this information is coming from trusted sources. 

Also, it just makes sense. For starters, CBS' Jon Heyman recently reported that "Zack Greinke is headed for a record payday by right-handed pitchers," and Greinke simply isn't worth that kind of coin. 

He is going to benefit from a pitching-starved free-agent market. 

Greinke is better served as a No. 2 starter in a quality rotation than a No. 1 starter.

Last season, he went 15-5 with a 3.48 ERA and a 1.20 WHIP. He did this while throwing over 200 innings and going for 200 strikeouts against just 54 walks, while spending time with both the Brewers and Angels. 

Solid numbers, but it is way off what he did in his dominant season when he won the Cy Young in 2009, and in the three seasons since winning that award, he has done nothing to show that he will regain that Cy Young form, which is what a team needs if it is going to hand out a record contract to a 29-year-old pitcher.

The Angels will be better served to not hand out a bloated contract to Greinke and aim more for players who have a chance to produce at a level more equal to their salary. 

This would leave the Angels scrambling to put together their rotation, and they'd have a big hole to fill, but they can't let that force them into overpaying for a pitcher and making a bad decision.