Free agent Jake Odorizzi, who made the American League All-Star team while pitching for the Twins in 2019, agreed to a two-year deal with the Houston Astros on Saturday.
Former Twins All-Star Jake Odorizzi agrees to two-year deal with Houston
The Astros swept the Twins in a playoff series after last season.
March 6, 2021 at 11:16PM
The 30-year-old righthander pitched three seasons for the Twins, and was 22-18 with a 4.11 ERA. After going 15-7 in 2019, he was injured much of last season and made only four starts. He had a back injury, took a line drive to the chest and was also sidelined by a blister, and had a 6.59 ERA in 13 2/3 innings.
Before the season, he accepted a $17 million qualifying offer from the Twins, rejecting free agency in hopes he would have a strong 2020 to increase his value on the free agent market.
Terms of his deal with the Astros were not disclosed, but the MLB Network reported the incentive-laden contract could be worth $30 million over two seasons and has a buyout for Year 3.
"We're all going to miss Jake," Twins manager Rocco Baldelli said. "We have a friendship in addition to our professional working relationship. … I'm happy for him. I think he's found a good landing spot on a good, competitive team."
The Astros swept a best-of-three playoff series with the Twins last October. Starter Framber Valdez has a finger injury that is expected to sideline him at the start of the season, sparking Houston's renewed interest in Odorizzi. Astros ace Justin Verlander had Tommy John surgery in September and is expected to miss the entire season.
The Twins signed starters J.A. Happ and Matt Shoemaker in the offseason to join a rotation that includes holdovers Kenta Maeda, Jose Berrios, Michael Pineda and Randy Dobnak.
Souhan: A modest proposal to improve baseball, because the Golden At-Bat rule doesn’t go far enough
We start with a warning to bad pitchers and bad owners: Beware the trap door. And yes, we are considering moats around infielders.
