Zack Greinke sent Whit Merrifield cool text message after trade

Oct 11, 2019; Houston, TX, USA; Houston Astros starting pitcher Zack Greinke (21) speaks to the media before the Houston Astros and New York Yankees work out at Minute Maid Park. Mandatory Credit: Thomas B. Shea-USA TODAY Sports

Zach Greinke is known for being a man of few words. But when he speaks, his words carry meaning. And he apparently had a nice message for Whit Merrifield recently.

Merrifield was traded from the Royals to the Toronto Blue Jays ahead of Tuesday’s non-waiver trade deadline. Merrifield is a two-time All-Star and career .286 hitter. But this season, his numbers have been bad. His .242 batting average and .645 OPS are career-low marks.

Merrifield told reporters that upon being traded, he received a text message from Greinke of a tweet. He didn’t know what to make of it until seeing his former Royals teammate later that day.

“That was it. There was nothing else but the Tweet. And so, I saw him later on that day, and I was like, ‘Zach, I got your Tweet. What’s up?’” Merrifield said, via Sportsnet. “And he goes, ‘Yeah, man, I just want to let you know that you’re a good player. Even though sometimes the numbers might not show it.’”

That’s a pretty nice message from Greinke.

What the pitcher wanted to convey is indeed true. Merrifield’s expected numbers are much higher than his actual stats for this season, indicating the versatile player is enduring some bad luck.

Merrifield’s luck is turning too. In July, he batted .286 with an .826 OPS — numbers much more in line with his career stats. The Jays are banking that Greinke is right and that Merrifield’s stats don’t reflect the player the 33-year-old is.