Jake Odorizzi

The New York Mets are reportedly interested in this free agent pitcher

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New York Yankees, Jake Odorizzi

The New York Mets‘ need for reliable starting pitchers is evident. After Jacob deGrom, Marcus Stroman, and David Peterson, the team has a struggling Steven Matz and a rehabbing Noah Syndergaard. They need at least a couple of big-time arms to fill their rotation in the first few months of the 2021 campaign. As of now, it is not clear which role Matz and Seth Lugo will fulfill.

Of course, most of the New York Mets’ fanbase is currently dreaming about the team signing Trevor Bauer. That could, without a doubt, give them one of the best rotations in the National League and maybe MLB. However, the team needs to consider other options in case they strike out with the controversial former Red.

According to Buster Olney of ESPN, there are four teams showing an early interest in free agent right-hander Jake Odorizzi: The Toronto Blue Jays, the San Francisco Giants, the Minnesota Twins, and the Mets.

Odorizzi could fit in the Mets’ project

So there you have it: Jake Odorizzi is the latest free agent hurler to be connected with the new Steve Cohen project. As you know, Cohen was introduced last week as the new Mets’ owner and is planning to make the team really competitive in the short and long-term.

Odorizzi is 30 years old, and when healthy, has the ceiling of a mid-rotation starter and could fit in nicely with the Mets. In the 2020 season, though, he could only make four starts due to a chest injury along with a blister. Injuries took a toll on his performance and he finished with a 6.59 ERA in 13.2 frames.

However, he has a 3.92 ERA and a 4.12 FIP in his career, covering 1042.1 innings. He was particularly effective in 2019 as a member of the Twins, pitching to a 3.59 ERA and 178/53 K/BB ratio in 159 frames over 30 starts.

There is a strong possibility that, given the uncertain market, the owners’ revenue losses, and other COVID-19 consequences, Odorizzi has to settle for a short-term, ‘prove-it’ deal and re-enter the market in 2022. That could also work for the win-now Mets.

Will the Mets’ new regime swing a deal for the talented righty?

Should the Yankees consider RHP Jake Odorizzi in free agency next year?

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New York Yankees, Jake Odorizzi

Is it too early to start talking about free agency for 2021? I don’t think so, considering the MLB and the players union cannot come to a resolution on differing financial opinions. The New York Yankees will likely begin their process of evaluating talent, considering several starting pitchers could be off the team in 2021.

Three starters in Masahiro Tanaka, J.A. Happ, and James Paxton will all have expiring contracts after the 2020 season. With the season in jeopardy due to the coronavirus pandemic, looking into free agents for next season could be more relevant than you think.

Jake Odorizzi of the Minnesota Twins, will be 31 years old in 2021. Last season, he earned an All-Star appearance for the first time in his career, posting a 3.51 ERA with 178 strikeouts over 159 innings. He allowed just 16 home runs and walked 53 batters. His ability to keep homerun totals low would be an extreme benefit for the Yankees if they elected to pursue him.

Odorizzi only earned $9.5 million last year with the Twins, and he would likely be much more affordable than Happ, who was set to make $17 million this season. Some might say that Odorizzi was a one-hit-wonder in 2019, based on the fact that his previous seven seasons were inconsistent, having never reached the All-Star game. One significant change he made his game was scrapping his slider and reducing the spin on his split-finger basketball. This resulted in hitters slugging just .346 instead of .426, which gave him a solid ground-ball rate.

Ultimately, finding a starting pitcher who can produce ground balls and throw low homerun numbers would be a tremendous add for the Yankees. They could elect to extend Paxton and Tanaka, but I believe both will be too expensive. If they are going to retain anyone, I believe it will be Paxton, who they can likely get on a cheaper deal considering his most recent surgery to remove a cyst from his lower back.

This would give the Yankees a nice rotation consisting of Gerrit Cole, Luis Severino, Jordan Montgomery, Odorizzi, and a bevy of younger options in Clarke Schmidt and Deivi Garcia.

 

New York Yankees: Looking Forward to the Final Road Trip of the Regular Season

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New York Yankees, Yankees, Luke voit

The New York Yankees, already clinching the division and home-field advantage in the ALDS, travel to Tampa and Texas for the final six games of the season. This when the team has to bear down and take it one win at a time.

The first order of business, the Tampa Bay Rays. They are going to do everything in their power to win both games of the two-game set. With Glasnow and Snell coming back off injury, expect to see them at a point during this series. The one-hitter Yankees’ pitchers must be careful with is Austin Meadows. He is hitting .289, with 32 home runs, and 88 RBIs (MLB.com). The Rays have a balanced lineup, mixed with some underrated power and line-drive hitters. This could be a trap series for the team from the Bronx.

Next on the list, the Texas Rangers. The weekend series will set the tone for the Yankees heading into the postseason. Hitters will most likely face Lance Lynn and Mike Minor near the end of the series.  Lynn had a career-best ERA to start the year but fell off in the second half.  Minor helped shutout the Yankees, at home, for the first time in over a year. Beating both of these pitchers should boost the lineup’s confidence heading into the postseason.

Why is this final road trip so important?

The Yankees are currently two games behind the Astros in the loss column, for home-field advantage. They have the tiebreaker which would make it three games. This implies the Yankees must go at least four out of five to stay in the competition for home field. They will have to hope the Mariners and Angels can win at least three of the six games.

As of now, the Yankees will host the Minnesota Twins in the ALDS. This series would be a rematch of the epic 2017 AL Wild Card game. The Twins rotation will most likely consist of Jose Berrios, Jake Odorizzi, and Kyle Gibson. All of them have double-digit wins on the year. The Yankees play much better at home in the playoffs but will have to prove themselves at Target Field, to ultimately get a chance to play in the World Series.

The New York Yankees will get a chance to redeem themselves for losing to the Astros in seven games in the 2017 ALCS. As of late, the Yankees have proven they have a good enough rotation and very intimidating lineup to make it there. Let’s see how they do the second time around.