KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Veteran right-hander Zack Greinke officially re-signed with the Kansas City Royals, the club announced Friday morning.
Greinke, 39, a 2002 first-round pick by the Royals, is entering his 20th season in major-league baseball. He signed a one-year deal, according to the team.
After breaking into the big leagues in 2004, he spent his first seven seasons in Kansas City, where he won the AL Cy Young Award and went to his first All-Star Game in 2009.
The Royals traded Greinke to Milwaukee — a deal that netted Lorenzo Cain and Alcides Escobar among others — after the 2010 season.
Greinke went on to play for the Los Angeles Angels and Dodgers, Arizona and Houston before returning to Kansas City last season.
Greinke went 4-9 with a 3.68 ERA in 26 starts last season.
He is a six-time All-Star, six-time Gold Glove winner, two-time Silver Slugger winner and has finished in the top 20 in MVP voting three times in his career.
Among all MLB pitchers, Greg Maddux and Bob Gibson are the only others with at least six All-Star appearances and six Gold Gloves in their careers.
He’s also one of only three pitchers with at least one Cy Young, Gold Glove and Silver Slugger award on his resume along with Orel Hershiser and Fernando Valenzuela.
Greinke is 223-141 with a 3.42 ERA in 556 career games, including 514 starts. He has 2,882 strikeouts, which ranks 20th all-time in MLB history.
Royals pitchers and catchers report to Surprise, Arizona, for spring training on Feb. 15 with the full squad expected to report Feb. 20 for the first season under new manager Matt Quatraro.
The franchise is in the midst of a public-relations campaign to get Kansas City voters to sign off on helping pay for a new downtown stadium.
The Royals finished last in the AL Central with the second-worst record in the American League at 65-97 last season.
