Odorizzi optimistic about his future with Astros.
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — Four Februarys ago, Jake Odorizzi readied himself for an awkward afternoon. The Tampa Bay Rays wanted to pay him $6.05 million for the upcoming 2018 season. Odorizzi asked for $6.3 million. The two sides could not come to a compromise, and an arbitration hearing was scheduled.
Odorizzi sat on one side of a table with his agency. On the other side, assistant general manager James Click gathered with the rest of Tampa Bay’s contingent. A third party lurked in the background — a man Odorizzi had long admired.
“Zack’s been a guy that I modeled my career after just with similarities, body type, background,” Odorizzi said Tuesday. “I thought if there was a guy when I was drafted who I should follow career-path wise, it was him.”
Zack Greinke offered Odorizzi some research on his case. Greinke had never gone to an arbitration hearing as a player. The veteran righthander harbored some curiosity about the closed-door process.
Greinke sat in on the case and met Odorizzi for the first time. Odorizzi recently had signed with Excel Sports Management — the same agency that represented Greinke.
Now the two are teammates who share a common goal: capturing their first World Series title. Houston introduced Odorizzi on Tuesday in a virtual news conference from its West Palm Beach spring training complex.
“I think this is a great spot to win,” Odorizzi said. “That’s why I chose here in the end. I had some other opportunities, but I felt this was the best situation for me from a team standpoint, from a personnel standpoint.”
Odorizzi and Greinke now exist as the two proven veterans in the Astros’ suddenly revamped starting rotation. Greinke discovers ways to prolong his career despite diminishing velocity and age. Odorizzi, who turns 31 in September, is unlocking similar solutions.
Odorizzi defeated the Rays in that aforementioned arbitration hearing. Days later, the team traded him to the Minnesota Twins. Odorizzi produced the worst season of his career — a 4.49 ERA and 1.345 WHIP in 1641⁄3 innings. He entered the winter searching for answers and stumbled upon Randy Sullivan, CEO of Florida Baseball Ranch.
Odorizzi trained there throughout the offseason, focusing on mobility and stability training to sync his upper and lower halves. He left with an increase of more than 2 mph on his four-seam fastball. Odorizzi earned the only All-star appearance of his career the next season.
“I believe that’s the new me, and I think I’m on the uphill trajectory with finally tuning things where I’d like them,” Odorizzi said. “Plus (with) the knowledge I have from pitching six or seven years now, I think everything is coming together at the right time. I think my best years are ahead of me because of that.”
Last season invited some concern. Odorizzi made only four starts in the shortened season. Minnesota put him on the injured list three times. Odorizzi and Click said there is no long-term concern. Click made sure to reiterate that Odorizzi has never had an arm or elbow injury during his major league career. Odorizzi ascribed most of his misery to the start-andstop nature of the season.
Odorizzi’s two-year contract contains a player option for the third season. Odorizzi acknowledged Tuesday he would “look to potentially push it longer than that if things show itself that way.”
It is the longest deal given by Click, Houston’s second-year general manager who argued against Odorizzi in that arbitration hearing.
Odorizzi’s connections to his new club extend beyond Click. Sullivan is close with Astros pitching coach Brent Strom and told Odorizzi much of what makes Strom so renowned. Jason Castro caught Odorizzi upon his arrival in Minneapolis in 2018. Ryan Pressly was part of the team’s bullpen. Odorizzi said he knows Martin Maldonado, too.
The continuity is crucial given the unusual circumstances under which he enters. Odorizzi flew to Houston on Monday for his physical. On Tuesday, he underwent COVID-19 intake testing at the team’s spring training facility. Odorizzi said he could join camp Wednesday, but that is contingent on the test results.
If he joins the team Thursday, Odorizzi will have exactly three weeks before opening day. While still unsigned, Odorizzi threw “35to 40-pitch” bullpen sessions twice a week near his home in Tampa, Fla.
He will join a rotation reeling from the loss of Framber Valdez, a resilient arm who many in the organization believed could be a workhorse. Jose Urquidy, Cristian Javier and Lance Mccullers Jr. have not proven capable of that role.
“Some consistency, some durability, some innings,” Odorizzi said. “That’s what I’ve kind of built my career around: being consistent, taking the ball every fifth day and giving the team a chance to win. That’s what I want to do here.”