Greinke signs blockbuster deal with Diamondbacks

[December 05, 2015]  (Reuters) - Zack Greinke, one of the top pitchers in Major League Baseball, has agreed to join the Arizona Diamondbacks on a six-year deal worth more than $200 million, ESPN and MLB.com reported on Friday.

The deal has yet to be confirmed by the Diamondbacks but the Los Angeles Dodgers, where Greinke has spent the past three years, announced he was leaving the team.

"We made a very strong offer to retain Zack but clearly he got a deal that fit better for him and his family," the Dodgers' President of Baseball operations Andrew Friedman said in a statement.

Greinke finished second in the voting for this year's National League for the Cy Young award, given to the best pitcher in each league, after finishing with a 1.66 earned run average (ERA), the lowest in the majors in two decades.

He posted a 19-3 record and helped the Dodgers win the National League West Championship for the third season in a row, combining with Clayton Kershaw to give the franchise the best one-two pitching act in the majors.

In 12 major league seasons, Greinke has a 142-93 record with a 3.35 ERA but his decision to join the Diamondbacks was greeted by surprise.

Arizona finished third in the NL West this season with a 79-83 record and have not made the playoffs since 2011.

The 32-year-old right hander had an option to remain in Los Angeles for another three years but decided to become a free agent.

"It's an amazing deal," former MLB pitcher Curt Schilling said on ESPN.

(Reporting by Andrew Both in Cary, North Carolina; Editing by Julian Linden)

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