Why LA Angels now have absolutely no shot at bringing Zack Greinke back

MLB Insider Bob Nightengale tweeted that Zack Greinke will be leaving Houston on Wednesday morning, which would theoretically make him available for the LA Angels.

However, in that same sentence, he also added that Greinke wants to play for an NL team. Therefore, the Angels are no longer an option.

Bringing Greinke back for the right price could potentially have been a good move for the Halos.

Zack Greinke is no longer an option for the middle of the LA Angels’ rotation.

If the LA Angels were smart, they’d make sure Zack Greinke wasn’t looking for Ace money, and sign him to be the No. 3 starter on the team. He was never going to be an Ace for our team, anyway.

While Greinke is still very respected around the league and a reliable option, his ERA has dipped to 4.12 for these last two years. He still always throws strikes, as he has walked just 1.7 batters per nine innings in that span, but he isn’t the Ace he used to be even just two years ago.

After having a big postseason, he’s going to draw plenty of interest in the National League, and somebody is going to get a good pitcher in the former Angel. He’s pitched for a long time and he’s had major success in both leagues.

One of the best hitting pitchers in baseball, he’ll also provide some juice with his bat in the NL.

It’s too bad that the Halos can’t land him, but it’s at least good to know that we won’t be competing against him a lot next season with him out of our division. We won’t be competing with him much at all next season, now that he’s leaving the American League entirely.

The Angels are going to have a shot at the division next year. It’s going to come down to how the front office can help the pitching staff, and this makes it a bit harder.