Diamondbacks Covering Some of Zack Greinke's Salary Proves Astros Fleeced Them

The biggest move this trade deadline by a country mile was the Houston Astros going all-in and acquiring Zack Greinke from the Arizona Diamomdbacks.

While the 35-year-old right-hander is still under contract until 2021 thanks to a massive contract that will pay him $70 million over the next two years, the Diamondbacks covered a big chunk of that salary in order to facilitate a move, sending Houston a fat $24 million.

#DBacks sending $24M to #Astros in Greinke trade, source tells The Athletic. HOU assumes remaining $53M.
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) July 31, 2019

It might be too early to declare a winner, but the Astros certainly look like they got the better end of the deal. To say the least.

The Astros can now pair three of the top five WHIPs in baseball (and the top three in the AL) together in the same rotation with Greinke, Gerrit Cole, and Justin Verlander. What's more, they're not totally financially handicapped by Greinke's deal.

While a return headlined by Corbin Martin, JB Bukauskas, and Seth Beer is a pretty solid haul for Arizona, Houston was able to grab a top-10 starting pitcher in the game without having to pay almost one-third of the money left on his deal.

#Astros traded Beer, Josh Rojas Corbin Martin, Bukaskas for Greinke and cash from #diamondbacks
— Joel Sherman (@Joelsherman1) July 31, 2019

The Astros' hypothetical playoff rotation includes two Cy Young winners, two 100 MPH fastballs, and the two best WHIPs in baseball. Buckle up, this will be fun to watch.

Well, unless you're a hitter that has to have that behemoth of a rotation.