Former All-Star Pitcher Jake Odorizzi Healthy Enough to Return, Looking For Contract

Veteran free agent pitcher Jake Odorizzi is reportedly throwing without restrictions and aiming to sign with a new team, MLB Network's Jon Morosi reported Monday afternoon.

Odorizzi missed all of 2023 after undergoing shoulder surgery last April, never making a single appearance with the Texas Rangers. The 33-year-old right-hander previously suited up for the Atlanta Braves, Houston Astros, Minnesota Twins, Tampa Bay Rays and Kansas City Royals.

Per Morosi, Odorizzi pitched off the mound in front of evaluators from 10-to-12 teams earlier this offseason. He aims to land with a new club "in the coming weeks."

Free agent RHP Jake Odorizzi, an All-Star starter in 2019, is throwing without restrictions and looking to sign a major league deal in the coming weeks.

Odorizzi, 33, has pitched off the mound this offseason in front of evaluators from 10 to 12 teams. @MLBNetwork @MLB
— Jon Morosi (@jonmorosi) February 12, 2024

Odorizzi was the Milwaukee Brewers' first round pick back in the 2008 MLB Draft. He, Lorenzo Cain, Alcides Escobar and Jeremy Jeffress were shipped to the Royals in December 2010 in exchange for Zack Greinke.

Two years later, Odorizzi, Wil Myers and Mike Montgomery were traded to the Tampa Bay Rays, who sent back James Shields and Wade Davis.

Odorizzi was a full-time member of the Rays' starting rotation by 2014, and he remained in that role through 2017. Before his contract ran out, however, Tampa Bay sent Odorizzi to Minnesota.

Over the next three years, Odorizzi continued to serve as a reliable starter for the Twins, although injuries limited him to 13.2 innings in the shortened 2020 season. He spun that success into an All-Star appearance in 2019, as well as a three-year, $29.5 million contract with the Astros once he hit free agency.

Odorizzi made 23 starts for Houston in 2021, then another 12 in 2022 before he was traded to the Braves. In Atlanta, Odorizzi made 10 more starts to close out the regular season. The Braves traded the righty to the Rangers a few months later.

For his career, Odorizzi is 74-69 with a 3.99 ERA, 1.248 WHIP, 8.4 strikeouts per nine innings and a 13.4 WAR. Odorizzi's 231 starts between 2014 and 2022 were tied for the seventh most in baseball in that span.

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