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In a slowly changing free agent market, the only thing where there has been any action and traction is pitching.
The Mets are active in this arena and one of the pitchers they have expressed interest in is Jake Odorizzi. But we think the right-hander is a lot more engaged with the other teams right now.
The clubs considered to be the most aggressive in the starting pitching market are the Angels, Blue Jays, Giants, Padres, Rays, Red Sox and White Sox. The Twins are also looking for a rotation aid and are on the line to keep Odorizzi. The Reds are also learning about the starters even as they work hard to trade Sonny Gray, who still has two years at $ 20 million on his contract.
The Yankees surprised officers with their docility on the starting line.
The Mets’ biggest interest this offseason appears to be George Springer and Trevor Bauer. They may be planning to make just one substantial purchase. So, for example, if Springer signed elsewhere with, say, the Blue Jays or the White Sox, they would focus on Bauer. But if they could land Springer, it could motivate them to increase the rotation with pitchers such as Odorizzi and / or Masahiro Tanaka.
Sandy Alderson has established that this offseason, the Mets prefer to use the money, not the capital of the players, to meet needs, not to reduce them in depth. But in Amed Rosario, for example, the Mets are the kind of player the shortstop-hungry Reds might have an interest in Gray. Alderson can glean all the information he needs from his previous association with the Oakland executives who traded Gray to the Yankees. Although one idea that couldn’t be dismissed was how poorly presented Gray was in New York City and how miserable it seemed to play here.
As for Odorizzi, he clearly intrigues the Mets.
He had his best season of 2019 as a twin, when he went 15-7 with a 3.51 ERA and struck out 10.1 batters in nine innings. That year, Minnesota’s assistant pitching coach was Jeremy Hefner, who had just completed his first season as the Mets pitching coach. The Twins relationship between Hefner and Trevor May was a factor that fueled Mets interest and the right-wing reliever’s two-year $ 15.5 million signing. Hefner is said to have an equally strong relationship with Odorizzi.
Odorizzi accepted Minnesota’s $ 17.8 million qualifying offer after the 2019 season. A player can only qualify once, so the thought was without the selection compensation related to the rejection of the offer. qualification, Odorizzi could come out after the 2020 campaign and do better with a multi-year contract than during the last offseason.
However, in 2020, Odorizzi was first cut short by a blister and then absorbing a Kansas City liner from Alex Gordon in his chest. This led to him making just four starts with a 6.59 ERA in 2020. But he is not 31 until March and none of the injuries were related to his elbow / shoulder. Those who were intrigued by Odorizzi’s 2019 sprint jump and improved success in working his fastball in the zone after spending 2.5 months of the 2018-19 offseason at Florida Baseball Ranch will almost certainly remain intrigued. by the right-hander.
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