Right-handed Jake Odorizzi and the Houston Astros have agreed to a two-year deal with a player option, a source familiar with the deal on ESPN’s Jeff Passan told Saturday.
The Astros have lost starter Framber Valdez indefinitely after the left-handed suffered a broken left ring finger on Tuesday during his spring training debut.
Houston also doesn’t have ace Justin Verlander, who will likely miss the entire season following Tommy John surgery on Sept. 30.
Odorizzi will join a rotation likely to include Zack Greinke, Cristian Javier, Lance McCullers Jr. and Jose Urquidy.
After accepting a one-year qualifying offer of $ 17.8 million from the Minnesota Twins last low season, Odorizzi, who turns 31 on March 27, was limited to four starts in 2020 due to bruised ribs and a blister, taking him 0-1 with an ERA of 6.59. in 13⅔ turns.
His lost season began when he was drilled into his side by a line drive from Kansas City’s Alex Gordon bat in his third start. He returned in September, but left after 3⅔ innings with blister problems in what would be his last appearance of the season.
Odorizzi went 15-7 with a 3.51 ERA in 30 starts in 2019 when he earned his first All-Star squad. He set career highs with wins and strikeouts (178) as the Twins had 101 wins and claimed their first division title since 2010.
He was drafted by the Milwaukee Brewers with the 32nd overall pick in 2008. He made his debut with the Kansas City Royals in 2012 before being shared with the Tampa Bay Rays the following season with Mike Montgomery and Wil Myers in the seven-player. trade that sent James Shields and Wade Davis to the Royals. He was traded to Minnesota for the 2018 season after signing up as a starter for the Rays for four solid years.
Odorizzi went 62-56 with a 3.92 ERA and 995 strikeouts in 1,042⅓ Major League-innings.