Kansas City had many up and coming stars from their 2004 team that had successful careers after leaving Kansas City from Carlos Beltran to Jose Bautista. The Royals also had a good pitcher from time to time including current Royals pitcher Zack Greinke. Greinke was selected in the first round of the MLB draft in 2002 by the Royals out of Apopka High School. The right hander didn't spend too much time in the Royals minor league system. After only two seasons in the minors, Greinke made his big league debut on May 22, 2004 against the Oakland Athletics, making him the youngest player in the majors at the age of 20 to potentially pick up a win in the big leagues. Unfortunately for Greinke, the team's closer Jeremy Affeldt blew Greinke's chances of earning his first Royals win after giving up the lead in the bottom of the ninth inning. The Royals lost the game against the Athletics in extra innings by the final score of 5-4. Greinke recorded his first big league win on June 8, 2004 against the Montreal Expos after pitching seven shutout innings with five strikeouts. Greinke would go on to play for the Royals another six seasons before being dealt to the Milwaukee Brewers along with shortstop Yuniesky Betancourt. The Greinke trade became a big part of the Royals 2014 and 2015 World Series runs. The team acquired shortstop Alcides Escobar, outfielder Lorenzo Cain, and pitchers Jake Odorizzi, and Jeremy Jeffress. Following the trade, former Royals general manager Dayton Moore in a news conference stated: "He was very much open to it at the end of the day". Moore continued: "A big part of my heart will always pull for Zack," Moore said. "What he overcame, the success he had here, to the point it's not easy to make these types of deals. You would prefer to have him here and sign him long-term but it just wasn't something we could do." Following the trade to Milwaukee, Greinke played with multiple teams throughout his career including the Angels, Dodgers, Diamondbacks, and the Astros. Now at the age of 38, Greinke returned to Kansas City on March 16, 2022 after signing a one year deal worth $13 million. The year 2022 for the Royals has been a big disappointment to this point leading fans to believe that the team will be sellers during the trade deadline. The 38-year old's name has been mentioned as a potential trade chip for Kansas City; however, the team is unlikely to flip Greinke for a second time. Royals general manager J.J Picollo in an interview with 610 Sports Radio stated: “There’s nothing contractually. We’ll treat Zack Greinke the exact same way we’ll treat any other player. If the return is a good return, then we’ll look at it.” Although it is unclear whether Greinke will request a trade from the Royals, he will always be a big part of the team's history.
