MLB insider hopes Zack Greinke pulls a Tom Brady and continues to pitch in perpetuity: "I hope he's out there until he's 45"

Zack Greinke is pitching for the Kansas City Royals this season after re-signing for another season. He began his career with the Royals all the way back in 2004 and it appears he's intent on ending his career there too.

MLB insider Jim Memolo loves the signing for Kansas City and hopes he can pitch there for the next five or six seasons.

The sound bite gods must make it so.

@Royals | #Royals https://t.co/Y2NqnbhHQS

Memolo said:

"Zack Greinke is going to go pitch for the Royals again. I'm loving this. I hope he goes Tom Brady, I hope he's out there until he's 45... I expect survival. That's what I expect. Old guy pitches and doesn't get blown up... I am fascinated by an old guy going out there and not getting blown up every start. As you get older, you start analyzing where a guy's swing is vs. where you're throwing the ball."

He hopes that Greinke, who is 39 years old and past retirement age for a lot of baseball players, has a Tom Brady-like run to end his career.

Obviously, Greinke isn't playing at the same level the aging Brady is or was, but still pitching past 40 years old is very impressive nonetheless.

Last season, Greinke was very good, albeit unspectacular. At this stage of his career, a 3.68 ERA is excellent. Pitching 137 innings is less encouraging, but that's still a good number.

The Royals aren't relying on him to be an ace. In fact, they're not even expecting to compete, so anything from Greinke is a real bonus.

He's possibly heading to the Hall of Fame when it's all said and done, so anything he's doing now is likely only a plus. That is, as long as he doesn't get blown up like Memolo mentioned.

How good can Zack Greinke be this year?

As mentioned, Zack Greinke was surprisingly good last year for the Royals. Can he repeat that success this season at age 39?

The Fangraphs' projections don't expect an elite season for the former All-Star. He's expected to record about 1.0 fWAR and have an ERA slightly above 4.00. These aren't terrible numbers, especially on a Royals team with little to no aspirations in 2023.