Is the former Houston Astros ace hinting at a return?

The Houston Astros are one of several teams this season that have struggled with starting pitching injuries. When you have that many injuries, you start looking in places you might not expect.

Could one of those unexpected places be Zack Greinke?

The eccentric 40-year-old right-hander pitched for the Kansas City Royals last season, but he never officially retired. He has been a free agent this entire time. The former first-round pick spent most of his time providing batting practice to his sons.

On Friday, Greinke was at the Arizona Diamondbacks’ spring training facility, throwing to hitters.

Being Greinke, nothing is particularly clear about what he is pursuing. In fact, he said he’s only been throwing like a pro the past two weeks and doesn’t want to label his presence in the facility.

“My arm feels good right now,” Greinke told the Arizona Republic. “I was trying to be as good as I could at golf over the last couple of months, and I was like, ‘Why am I trying to be a professional golfer when I’m already a professional baseball player ?’ So I thought I’d throw some out there and see how it went.

That’s how it goes with Greinke, who is one of the game’s most beloved characters and a player almost every former teammate has a story about — and it usually involves his quirky sense of humor.

The Diamondbacks let him use their facilities because he played for them from 2016-2019.

During this 2019 season, the Diamondbacks dealt him to the Houston Astros, where he formed a tandem with Justin Verlander. In his 10 starts with Houston that season, he went 8-1 and helped them reach the World Series, where they lost to the Washington Nationals.

He remained with the Astros in 2020 and 2021 and finished his career with Houston with a 22-10 record with a 3.89 ERA. He also helped them reach the 2021 World Series. After that, he returned to Kansas City, where he started his career.

If he’s interested in a return, he’ll likely have suitors for half a season from an arm that won 225 games, a Cy Young and six Gold Gloves. He even won two Silver Sluggers as a pitcher.

Maybe the Astros could be one of them.