The Toronto Blue Jays are showing interest in free-agent right-handed pitcher Jake Odorizzi, according to Shi Davidi of Sportsnet. The Blue Jays met with Odorizzi's representatives at the GM meetings on Tuesday.
Odorizzi has a $17.8 million qualifying offer on the table from the Minnesota Twins, one that he is expected to turn down.
This past season, Odorizzi went 15-7 with a 3.51 ERA, allowing 139 hits while striking out 179 batters over 159 innings of work en route to an All-Star appearance.
The 29-year-old was originally selected by the Milwaukee Brewers in the first round of the 2008 MLB Draft. However, he never actually played a game for the Brewers before being traded to the Kansas City Royals in a deal that sent Zack Greinke to Milwaukee in December 2010.
Odorizzi went on to make his big-league debut with the Royals in 2012, making two starts. That ensuing offseason, he was traded to the Tampa Bay Rays as part of a package that helped Kansas City land James Shields and Wade Davis.
The Breese, Il. native then proceeded to spend the next five seasons with the Rays, becoming a full-time starter in 2014 when he went 11-13 with a 4.13 ERA, surrendering 156 hits while fanning 174 hitters across 168 frames.
Odorizzi then posted two straight sub-4 ERA seasons in 2015 and 2016 and resided in Tampa Bay through 2017 before being dealt to the Twins in February 2018.
He went 7-10 with a 4.49 ERA during his first season in Minnesota, giving up 151 hits while registering 162 punchouts through 164.1 innings.
Over the course of his career, Odorizzi has gone 62-55 with a 3.88 ERA.
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