Greinke's Issues are Emotional

The Royals have no intention of speaking about Greinke's absence with any more specificity than they already have. The most definitive explanation we're probably going to get from them can be found in this article in The Star this morning: "Sources confirmed previous statements by Baird and Bell that Greinke’s departure was not a disciplinary matter, a legal issue, due to a physical injury or reflected a lack of desire to remain in baseball. Sources also confirmed the issue did not involve a family member or any other person."

The Star did report that Greinke's issues are "emotional." If that's true, and if this isn't a disciplinary matter, or a legal issue, or just a general lack of desire, then let's give Greinke the time he needs. I'm guessing he'll return as quickly as he can and if he has anything to say, he'll say it then.

Bell said that he doesn't expect Greinke to be ready to start the season, but we have an ample amount of starters already and I'm not so sure that Greinke was a lock for the rotation anyway. Perhaps this will give us a better chance to see if Affeldt is ready to return to the rotation after spending the past couple of seasons in middle relief—a position he clearly isn't comfortable with.