Right-hander Jake Odorizzi is rejoining the Tampa Bay Rays on a minor league contract with an invitation to major league spring training, via the team's communications department.
The right-hander will earn $1.5 million if he secures a spot on the 26-man roster for the upcoming season. Additionally, he will receive $500,000 bonuses for reaching milestones of 25, 50, 75, 100, and 150 innings pitched during the season according to Joel Sherman of the New York Post.
Odorizzi signed a two-year, $23.5 million deal with the Houston Astros before the 2021 season. The contract included a $12.5 million player option triggered by making 30 starts, which he achieved by making 46 starts.
He was then traded from Houston to the Atlanta Braves in the middle of the 2022 season and then moved to the Texas Rangers before the 2023 season. Remarkably, he was part of teams that reached the playoffs in all three seasons of that contract. However, Odorizzi didn't pitch during the 2023 season after undergoing shoulder surgery.
But now in Tampa Bay, there is an potential opportunity open for Odorizzi to make his MLB return. With right-hander Taj Bradley sidelined due to a strained pectoral muscle, there is an opening in the Rays rotation up for grabs during spring camp.
Odorizzi’s career
Odorizzi hurler was initially drafted by the Milwaukee Brewers in the first round of the 2008 MLB Draft. He has gone on to pitch for five teams over his going on 12-year MLB career in the Rays, Kansas City Royals, Minnesota Twins, Houston Astros and Atlanta Braves.
The righty was involved in two significant trades that included ace pitchers who were the face of their respective franchises: Zach Greinke in 2010 and James Shields in 2012. These trades eventually led Odorizzi to establish himself as a key part of the Tampa Bay's major league rotation starting in 2013.
During his five-year stint with the Rays from 2013 to 2017, Odorizzi amassed a record of 74 wins and 69 losses with a 3.99 ERA across 241 career appearances, of which 237 were starts.
In his most recent outings during the 2022 season with the Astros and Braves, Odorizzi posted a combined record of 6 wins and 6 losses, maintaining a 4.40 ERA across 22 starts. Notably, Odorizzi achieved a career-high 15 wins in 2019 while representing the American League as an All-Star during his run with the Twins.
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