Zack Greinke went 10-14 with a 4.17 ERA in 33 games in 2010 with the Royals. In 2009, he went 16-8 with a 2.16 ERA and was honored with the American League Cy Young Award. Credit: AP

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In July 2008, Milwaukee Brewers general manager Doug Melvin made the ultimate midseason trade by acquiring pitching ace CC Sabathia from Cleveland. The result was the team's first playoff berth in 26 years.

If "Go For It" Part II works as well for the Brewers, the 2011 season could be a memorable one.

The Brewers became the focus of the baseball world Sunday when Melvin completed a stunning deal with Kansas City for ace right-hander Zack Greinke, 27, the top pitcher available on the winter trade market.

"This is what I call a 'now' trade," said Melvin, who was in Chatham, Ontario, visiting his parents when the six-player swap came together.

"I told Zack that I felt like I acquired CC Sabathia again, but this time for two years and maybe longer."

The trade came at great expense for the Brewers in terms of young, talented players. They sent shortstop Alcides Escobar, centerfielder Lorenzo Cain and pitching prospects Jake Odorizzi and Jeremy Jeffress to the Royals for Greinke, shortstop Yuniesky Betancourt and $2 million in cash.

"It was a costly trade," said Melvin. "We gave up a lot of good, young players. This is a credit to our scouting and player development people to have the kind of young players it takes to make a trade like this."

Two weeks earlier, the Brewers traded their top minor-league prospect, second baseman Brett Lawrie, to Toronto for right-hander Shaun Marcum. Thus, while cutting a wide swath through their farm system, the Brewers acquired two established starting pitchers to address their major weakness, the primary reason they fell back for two seasons after making the playoffs in '08.

"We needed to make some big changes with our pitching and I think we've done that with Shaun Marcum and Zack Greinke," said Melvin, who will add that duo to returnees Yovani Gallardo, Randy Wolf and Chris Narveson.

"I'm excited. This is all about getting both of those pitchers. I live for young guys. I love their emotion and energy. But these guys are young, too. I think coming to Milwaukee will energize Zack a bit."

Melvin had tried on two previous occasions to pry the 2009 American League Cy Young Award winner away from Kansas City. Each time, he was told his offer was not enough to get it done.

Two events in recent days turned the tide in the Brewers' favor, however. First, Greinke changed agents, signing with Creative Artists Agency, a group that represents Milwaukee all-star outfielders Ryan Braun and Corey Hart. At the same time, Greinke pressed the Royals to trade him to a team with a better chance of winning.

The next domino fell when Washington made a strong move to acquire Greinke, only to have him nix the proposal because the struggling Nationals were on the no-trade list in his contract. Milwaukee also was on Greinke's no-trade list, but Melvin figured he could work around that.

"I said, 'I'm going to try this one more time,' " said Melvin, who stayed in touch with Kansas City general manager Dayton Moore. "We picked it back up and by Saturday night, it was 90% done."

As for Greinke dropping his no-trade provision without compensation, Melvin said, "It's an indication he wanted to come to Milwaukee and thinks we have a chance to compete and win the division."

Melvin had shown interest in free-agent right-hander Carl Pavano in recent weeks but not to the point of making an offer. Instead, Melvin refocused on trading for Greinke.

Earlier this off-season, the Brewers entertained offers for first baseman Prince Fielder in hopes of securing front-line pitching. But, because Fielder is a free agent after the 2011 season and was considered a "one-year rental" by interested parties, no real trade market developed.

Now, with Marcum and Greinke greatly strengthening the Brewers' starting pitching, Melvin confirmed the plan is to keep Fielder and make a strong push next season.

"You never say never," said Melvin. "I said a few weeks ago I didn't want to trade Lorenzo Cain. But my vision is having Prince on this ballclub and keeping our impact bats intact."

News of the blockbuster trade created tremendous excitement throughout both Brewer Nation and the organization.

"It says we're going for it," Braun said. "We're all in. I don't think anybody could ask for more. To say I'm thrilled is a significant understatement."

With Marcum and Greinke added to the starting rotation, Braun said the Brewers immediately are serious playoff contenders.

"I don't think anybody could have expected anything like this, to get two pitchers like this in one off-season," said Braun.

"I give credit to (owner) Mark Attanasio and Doug Melvin and the entire management team. They had a chance to go for it and they're doing it. This is not easy to do. Mark has proven he's committed to winning and this is more proof of that."

There are financial implications to the trade for the Brewers. Greinke has two years remaining on a four-year deal that pays salaries of $13.5 million in both 2011 and 2012. He is eligible for free agency after that, but Melvin expressed hope of working out a contract extension at some point.

Betancourt, who will be 29 on Jan. 31, has a $4 million salary in 2011 with a club option for $6 million in 2012 and $2 million buyout. The $2 million the Royals sent in the deal would pay for that buyout should the Brewers decide to part ways after one year.

Before the deal, the Brewers' payroll was on track to be not much more than $70 million, down from $85.3 million to start the 2010 season. But flexibility was allowed by Attanasio should an impact player become available.

Greinke went 60-67 with a 3.82 earned run average in seven seasons for the Royals, pitching at least 200 innings in each of the last three years. His 70 quality starts and 10 complete games since 2008 rank fourth in the majors, and he ranks seventh with 606 strikeouts and ninth with 651 2/3 innings over that span.

Greinke's breakthrough season came in 2009, when he went 16-8 with a 2.16 ERA, six complete games, three shutouts and 242 strikeouts in 229 1/3 innings, earning the Cy Young Award. He slipped to a 10-14 record and 4.17 ERA in 33 starts last season, when the constant losing in Kansas City appeared to have an effect on him.

Greinke missed much of the 2006 season with social anxiety disorder and depression and considered quitting baseball for a time. He bounced back strongly from that episode, however, and Melvin said it no longer is a concern.

Betancourt, who will replace Escobar as the starting shortstop, is coming off his most productive season in the majors, when he compiled career highs of 16 home runs and a team-high 78 runs batted in. In six seasons with Seattle and Kansas City, he is a career .272 hitter with 47 home runs and 307 RBI in 810 games.

Escobar, 24, was considered the Brewers' top prospect entering the 2010 season but struggled at the plate. In 148 games, he batted .235 with four home runs and 41 RBI.

Cain, 24, was summoned from the minors in the second half of the season and played well over the final six weeks, batting .309 while playing stellar defense. He was expected to battle for the starting job in the spring with the player he replaced, Carlos Gomez.

Odorizzi, 20, quickly developed into the Brewers' top pitching prospect after being taken in the supplemental first round of the 2008 draft. He went 7-3 with a 3.43 ERA at Class A Wisconsin last season, pitching the first eight innings of a no-hitter against Cedar Rapids.

Jeffress, 23, the Brewers' first-round pick in 2006, originally was listed as a "player to be named" in the deal. The Royals supposedly were doing a background check on him after a couple of marijuana-related suspensions in the minors but eventually signed off on him.

Converted from starting to relieving in 2010, the hard-throwing Jeffress was summoned by the Brewers in September and was impressive in 10 outings, posting a 2.70 ERA.

"We gave up a lot, but we've all seen the value of quality starting pitching," said Braun. "When you acquire one of the best pitchers in baseball, you've done all you can do."