A few days after the Houston Astros lost starting pitcher Framber Valdez to a potential season-ending injury, the franchise made a big move on Saturday afternoon by inking Jake Odorizzi to a $20.25 million, two-year contract.
The 30-year-old hurler was the clear top available pitcher remaining on the free agent market, and the Astros’ need for an additional starting pitcher skyrocketed after Framber Valdez fractured his left ring finger after being struck by a comebacker off the bat of Francisco Lindor.
“Jake was the top free agent remaining on the board in our eyes,” Astros GM James Click said. “And certainly, the prior relationship always gives you some comfort about the player as well as the person … so it was a combination of we know how talented he is and bringing that in was something that we felt was valuable to the team.”
Odorizzi was limited to just four starts with the Minnesota Twins during the truncated 2020 season due to a blister and a chest injury — posting a disappointing 6.59 ERA, 1.39 WHIP and 12/3 K/BB ratio across 13 ⅔ innings.
“I want to bring some consistency, some durability, some innings,” he said. “That’s what I’ve built my career around, being consistent, taking the ball every day and giving the team a chance to win, and that’s what I want to do here.”