In the winter of 2010, Zack Greinke wanted out. He had been with the Royals since being the sixth overall selection in the 2002 draft. He was in the big leagues just two years later, but all he got to see was losing baseball. Not just losing baseball, but bad losing baseball. In the seven years Greinke was in Kansas City, the Royals won less than 40% of their games. With two years left before free agency, Zack asked General Manager for a trade.
To his credit, Dayton Moore was accommodating. He wanted to use the opportunity to fill what he perceived to be the three greatest needs on the team - pitching, shortstop, and center field.