Zack Greinke is making both teams in L.A. wait and rumors have Josh Hamilton remaining with the Texas Rangers. Even though they are just rumors, the Rangers look to make a huge splash in the offseason by acquiring the top free agents in the market.
The Rangers are doing a better job being the New York Yankees than the actual Yankees. Not long ago, when it came to the offseason, the Yanks were always in play for everybody. However, this year they are silent, and the Rangers are looking to make all the noise.
As mentioned above, Greinke has yet to sign with the Dodgers or the Angels and both teams are growing impatient with the 29-year-old right hander who is bound to receive a six or seven-year deal upwards of $150 million.
Originally, the Dodgers seemed alone in the race for the ace. They have the deepest pockets and rumors had them offering as much as a seven-year, $165 million deal.
The Angels became a part of the mix and now they seem to have completely given up as their General Manager Jerry Dipoto said, "Zack is a curious guy, an intellectual, and he wanted to see what free agency is about. We respected that. I wish him the best. Zack is a good person, he works hard, and he's an outstanding pitcher. What he gets, he gets."
Pretty much sounds like he's throwing up the white flag.
As for Hamilton, many analysts believe he is so tied to his community that he will not budge from Texas. However, Hamilton wants six years, the Rangers offered three and rumors have that they might be willing to go four.
Their current payroll with Ian Kinsler ($13M), Adrian Beltre ($16M) and Michael Young ($16M) the top paid players doesn't surpass $90 million in 2013.
The most incredible part about getting Greinke, Hamilton and possibly even Justin Upton is that the Rangers' payroll will remain under $170 million. How envious are those Yankees?
General manager Jon Daniels is willing to make the team over and bring in the stars as their fan base has proved faithful through the years of struggles and currently enjoying the team's succes. As we can see, Daniels wants to bring a championship to Texas.
