Krukow: Giants ‘need a Greinke; need to risk a contract like that'

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According to multiple reports, Zack Greinke will choose either the Giants or Dodgers.

With David Price agreeing to a seven-year, $217 million deal with the Red Sox, Greinke is expected to make his decision soon.

He has been the Giants' top priority this offseason, much to the delight of Mike Krukow.

[PAVLOVIC: Pros and cons: Greinke a perfect fit for Giants?]

"This is a time, this is a window for the Giants. Everybody is maturing at the right time. Everybody is right there. They need pitching. They need front-line pitching to complement the team. They need a Greinke," he explained on KNBR 680-AM on Wednesday morning. "They need to risk a contract like that. I do believe the risk is worth it, because of who he is, the type of pitcher that he is and where the team is now."

According to ESPN's Jerry Crasnick, Greinke is looking for a five or six-year contract that would pay him more than the $31 million annually Price got from Boston.

On Wednesday morning, Mark Feinsand of the New York Daily News tweeted: "One major-league executive said he's hearing the Dodgers may give Zack Greinke six years for $210 million, which would be $35 mil per year."

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"Will he be the same guy in the sixth or seventh year of a deal? Probably not," Krukow said. "But if it wins you one or two World Series championships -- is it worth it? Absolutely ... I'm not writing out the checks (laughing) so I'm saying go for it!"

Greinke won the Cy Young with the Royals in 2009, amassing a 16-8 record to go along with a 2.16 ERA.

In 2013 with the Dodgers, he went 15-4 with a 2.63 ERA. In 2014, he went 17-8 with a 2.71 ERA, and 2015 was the best season of his career -- 19-3 with a 1.66 ERA.

[REWIND: Baer: With starting pitchers over 30, Giants 'can't ignore history']

He turned 32 on Oct. 21.

"Name me a successful signing of a pitcher 30 years old or older, five-years-plus — there aren’t a lot of them," Giants CEO Larry Baer said back on Nov. 12. "... Remember, when you’re paying somebody $30 million a year, pick your number — $32 million, $28 million — that’s not for one year, that’s for six years.

"We’ve got to look at it as 2016 and whatever the commitment is beyond that. We’ve got to be smart about it because we don’t want to wake up in 2018 and say now our hands are tied because we did the $30 million deal to make us feel good in 2016.”

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