Rumor has it that the Rangers are talking to the Diamondbacks about Zack Greinke.

It makes no sense from Arizona’s standpoint.

Why would the Diamondbacks trade Greinke? Why would a team that is on the upswing, that won 93 games, that made the post-season, trade their best pitcher?

Yes, he makes $31 million a year, and you’d like the financial flexibility. But flexibility for what? Usually you do that to acquire the pitching you need to compete. They have the pitching they need to compete. His name is Zack Greinke.

Greinke is one of the few legitimate aces in baseball. You win with pitchers like Greinke. Your team is better with pitchers like Geinke. You don’t deal a guy like that if you have hopes of winning. You deal a guy like that if you have decided you are in rebuilding mode.

Greinke was 17-7 last season, with a 3.20 ERA. He struck out 215 batters and has a WHIP of 1.072.

By comparison, Martin Perez won 13 games, Andrew Cashner had the best ERA of any Texas starter at 3.40, Yu Darvish had the most strikeouts at 148, and Darvish had the best WHIP among starters at 1.168. Greinke would have easily been the best pitcher on the Rangers.

And in all of baseball, Greinke had the tenth best ERA, fifth most wins, eleventh most strikeouts, and seventh best WHIP.

He is an elite pitcher. One of the best in baseball. You could argue that if the Diamondbacks were to get a sudden case of total lobotomization and trade Greinke, he would be the best pitcher in Rangers’ franchise history.

If Jon Daniels can pull that off, that would be quite an accomplishment. Do the Rangers have the prospects to do it? Doubtful, but you never know. The Yankees didn’t give up much for Giancarlo Stanton. But the Diamondbacks aren’t rookie owners like Derek Jeter. The Marlins got fleeced by their inexperience. Daniels is usually the fleecee, not the fleecer.

But if Jon Daniels can out-trump Brian Cashman and pull off the deal of the winter in acquiring Zack Greinke, the respect-o-meter goes from near E to way over half a tank.