Zack Greinke’s presence gave the Diamondbacks a valuable commodity: a No. 1 starter. It also prevented them, by virtue of his $34 million annual average salary and their historically bottom-third payroll, from doing a variety of other things with their roster.

Following last week’s trade deadline blockbuster that sent him to the Houston Astros in a five-player deal, it stands to reason that the reverse is true: The Diamondbacks might not have the top-of-the-rotation certainty, but with the $53 million saved in the deal, they might have more financial muscle to flex.

"I'm assuming there’s going to be some more freedom to explore some things we haven’t explored in the past," Diamondbacks General Manager Mike Hazen said.

Hazen said he hasn’t yet dug in on exactly how much money he will have to spend this winter and where he might consider spending it. But after factoring in Greinke’s deferrals, signing bonus and the amount the club is paying down, the deal could net the Diamondbacks as much $20 million in savings in each of the next two seasons, Hazen said.

"We are going to have the ability," he said, "to redistribute that money in the future."

How that plays out, of course, is hard to say, particularly with the way the free-agent market has played out in recent winters. However, if market trends continue, it could work out well for the Diamondbacks.

Last week, the club subtracted a starter in Greinke but added two in Mike Leake and Zac Gallen. If Taijuan Walker and Luke Weaver return to health, the Diamondbacks could have a surplus of rotation options, assuming Robbie Ray, Merrill Kelly, Alex Young, Taylor Clarke and Jon Duplantier all return. (That depth could also give them the flexibility to make a trade.)

With that many pitchers, the Diamondbacks probably won’t be looking for help on the starting pitching market, perhaps the only segment of free agency in recent years not to see a significant downtick in spending.

That means they could devote their resources toward bolstering their position player group or rebuilding their bullpen.

While having to bargain shop in recent winters, they have had varying degrees of success in those areas. With Greinke off the books, they could begin shopping in a more expensive aisle.

Had they had that sort of flexibility last winter, it could have meant the difference between signing, say, infielder D.J. LeMahieu instead of Wilmer Flores or reliever Adam Ottavino instead of Greg Holland.

On a much smaller scale, the Greinke trade is similar to another Hazen and his group experienced during their time in the Boston Red Sox front office.

Seven years ago, the Red Sox dumped some $250 million in salary obligations by unloading Adrian Gonzalez, Carl Crawford and Josh Beckett, moves that allowed them to re-enter the free-agent market a year later.

"There's a comparison there," Hazen said. "The difference, though, when we did that (in Boston), we sank. This is different here; we’re competing. That wasn’t the dynamic. That was a lot less money and this was more talent. That was more the deal we were looking for here. We needed to do that type of deal. Freeing up the money wasn’t the goal."

That said, Hazen’s group probably won’t be rushing into more $206.5 million obligations with free agents, though he said those kind of contracts aren’t impossible to carry on a small-to-midmarket payroll if the roster has the proper depth throughout.

Besides, the Diamondbacks could be hard-pressed to replicate the results Greinke delivered. Over parts of four seasons, he logged a 3.41 ERA — a mark that is 31% above average, per Baseball-Reference, when factoring in ballpark and league averages — while throwing 714 2/3 innings.

"They were right on Zack Greinke," Hazen said, referring to his predecessors, who signed Greinke in December 2015. "We weren’t able to put it together the way we would have hoped while he was here. But they were right on him. It was a good deal. For whatever reason, we didn't build around him the way we needed to."

Reach Piecoro at (602) 444-8680 or nick.piecoro@arizonarepublic.com. Follow him on Twitter @nickpiecoro.

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