*Photo from Field Level Media*
Early in the offseason, trade season has already begun. The Texas Rangers have acquired RHP Jake Odorizzi and cash considerations from the Atlanta Braves in exchange for LHP Kolby Allard, according to announcements from both teams.
Rangers GM Chris Young said of Odorizzi that "We're in need of starting pitching, and we're excited to add Jake to the mix. He's been in winning environments, pitched meaningful games, playoff games. We think it's exactly the type of player we need. It's in line with what we said we're going to do this offseason, and we're going to look to continue to add more."
Odorizzi spent 2022 split between the Houston Astros and the Braves, heading to Atlanta at the trade deadline. He didn't perform as expected, and is now headed off to the Rangers as they address the rotation. Odorizzi will earn $12.5 million in 2023 after exercising his option, with the Braves sending $10 million to the Rangers.
Split between the AL and NL in 2022, Odorizzi ended the season with a 6-6 record to go with a 4.40 ERA, 1.33 WHIP, and 4.28 FIP. Odorizzi struck out 86 hitters in 106 1/3 innings pitched, making 22 starts in the regular season. He pitched 3 innings in one game in the 2022 postseason for the Braves.
Over 11 big league seasons with 5 different teams, Odorizzi has a 3.99 ERA with a 1.25 WHIP and 4.16 FIP, striking out 1,172 hitters. He has appeared in 241 games, with all but 4 of them being starts. Odorizzi has a 5.02 ERA and 1.19 WHIP in 4 career postseason games, making one start.
Young said of adding to the rotation that "You've got to have depth in the starting pitching. There's no doubt the last couple years we've run into this, where we haven't had the depth of starting pitching, we haven't had the quality of starting pitching that we need to be successful. And this is a step in addressing that. It's a very good fit. In terms of where we are in the pitching depth that we have coming, we need veteran starting pitchers, and we're going to look to continue to look."
Coming back to the Braves is Allard, a lefty who was chosen with the 14th overall pick by the Braves in the 2015 MLB Draft, and made his debut with the Braves in 2018, making one start and two relief appearances. Allard has experience in the big leagues as both a starter and a reliever, which is valuable to the Braves.
Last season, Allard spent most of his time with Triple A Round Rock but did make 10 relief appearances for the Rangers. Allard pitched to a 7.29 ERA, 1.29 WHIP, and 7.87 FIP, throwing 21 innings while striking out 19 hitters in a long relief role.
Allard has parts of 5 big league seasons under his belt, split between the Rangers and Braves. He's pitched to a 9-23 record with a 6.07 ERA, 5.36 FIP, and 1.42 WHIP, striking out 191 hitters while throwing 232 2/3 innings, split between 35 starts and 30 relief appearances.
Asked about the trade, Braves president of baseball operations Alex Anthopoulos said that "It made sense for both sides. The way we’re set up for the rotation next year, we just have a lot of depth. Getting a young guy with options, upside and club control made a lot of sense for us."
In Texas, Odorizzi joins Jon Gray as the only established starters currently in the rotation, with Dane Dunning, Glenn Otto, and Cole Ragans among the internal options for the rotation. Allard will join the Braves bullpen mix with a chance to break spring training in the majors.
Comments
Post a Comment