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Phoenix -- Jim Bowden of ESPN and MLB Network Radio is reporting (via Twitter) that Brewers right-hander Zack Greinke has hired agent Casey Close of Excel Sports Management to represent him.

I just checked with the Major League Baseball Players Association and Greinke has not yet filed paperwork saying he is being represented by Close. A spokesman said if it had happened very recently -- say today -- that it was possible that the paperwork had not yet been filed into the MLBPA system.

The Brewers have dealt in the past with Close, who represented right-hander Ben Sheets.

As you probably saw in our interview with Greinke on Monday, he declined to reveal any details about possible talks for a contract extension with the Brewers or if he was about to hire an agent. Greinke's personal policy is that contract matters are not to be discussed with the media.

My first reaction to the report that Greinke has hired an agent is that discussions with the Brewers have advanced to a point that he now needs representation. Though the Brewers also are keeping mum on the subject it is my understanding that trying to extend Greinke is a club priority. He can be a free agent after the season and the Brewers would like to head that off and have him for several more years.

That quest became more complicated Monday with the news that the San Francisco Giants gave right-hander Matt Cain a five-year, $112.5 million extension, the biggest deal ever for a right-handed pitcher. Cain is a comparable for Greinke, as Brewers GM Doug Melvin said Monday, and therefore that signing impacts what Greinke would look for in an extension.

Prior to Cain's signing, pitchers of that class had signed five-year deals for $80-85 million. Whether the Brewers could afford to do a $20-million per year deal with Greinke remains to be seen, considering some of the other contracts they have on the books in coming years.

Greinke would not even say if he's open to negotiating after opening day, though that would be easier to do with an agent who could keep it out of the player's hands. Greinke had been operating without an agent and had talked in person with Melvin about a possible extension.