Zack Greinke Could Miss Opening Day with Groin Injury, Torey Lovullo Says

Arizona Diamondbacks ace Zack Greinke is in danger of missing the team's Opening Day game against the Colorado Rockies on March 29 due to a groin injury.

According to Nick Piecoro of AZCentral.com, Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo said he doesn't want to rush Greinke back into action: "He's going to have to get ahead of it and be well ahead of it before he puts himself in [position to start Opening Day]. My mindset is to not have him play catch-up for one day during the season. We want to make sure he's strong from Day 1 until the end of the season."

Greinke exited Wednesday's start against the Cincinnati Reds after just one inning due to right groin tightness.

Lovullo categorized the injury as "minimal."

Last season was Greinke's second with Arizona after signing a six-year, $206.5 million deal in free agency, and he put up All-Star-worthy numbers.

The 34-year-old went 17-7 with a 3.20 ERA and 1.07 WHIP to go along with 215 strikeouts in 202.1 innings pitched.

Greinke has been an All-Star in three of the past four seasons, and he is a four-time All-Star overall.

He won the American League Cy Young Award with the Kansas City Royals in 2009 and finished second in the NL Cy Young voting in 2015 with the Los Angeles Dodgers after going 19-3 with a 1.66 ERA.

Greinke was a driving force behind helping the Diamondbacks reach the playoffs last season for the first time since 2011.

If Greinke isn't ready to go on Opening Day, 2017 All-Star Robbie Ray is the top candidate to replace him.