LA Angels: Why the Halos are better without Jake Odorizzi

The Angels can officially cross Jake Odorizzi off their list of potential additions before the regular season. Odorizzi and the Astros reportedly agreed to a two-year deal with a one-year option on Saturday.

Financial details in the contract have not been released, but MLB Insider Jon Heyman believes the right-hander has a chance to earn over $30 million with incentives over the first two seasons.

The Halos were one of the teams said to be ‘in the mix’ for Odorizzi throughout the offseason, and now they can finally pull their names out of the hat. Would he really have been worth the signing?

Odorizzi has shown flashes of high-level performance, but he hasn’t exactly been consistent or dominant for an entire 162-game season. In his nine-year career, Odorizzi has been an All-Star just once and has not reached 200 innings.

Jake Odorizzi Last 5 Seasons:

• 2016: (33 starts) (10-6, 3.69 ERA) 187.2 IP 1.194 WHIP
• 2017: (28 starts) (10-8, 4.14 ERA) 143.1 IP 1.242 WHIP
• 2018: (32 starts) (7-10, 4.49 ERA) 164.1 IP 1.345 WHIP
• 2019: (30 starts) (15-7, 3.51 ERA) 159 IP 1.208 WHIP (All-Star)
• 2020: (4 starts) (0-1, 6.59 ERA) 13.2 IP 1.390 WHIP

A blister on his finger and comeback line drive off his chest limited Odorizzi to just four regular-season starts last summer.

Was it in the best interest for the Angels to pass on signing Jake Odorizzi?

It makes sense for the Astros to jump on Odorizzi. Houston just lost Framber Valdez, potentially for the entire season, with a broken finger.

Based Heyman’s report, it looks like Odorizzi will make somewhere in the neighborhood of $12-$14 million each of the next two years. The Angels currently have ~$18.8 million left on their 2021 payroll before hitting the luxury tax penalty. Just how close to that figure owner Arte Moreno wants to get remains to be seen. Given all the one-year deals currently on the books, the Halos will have a lot of financially flexibility next season.

The departures of players currently under contract for one more season will also lead to big-league development for other arms on the roster.

Given the low-risk approach they’ve taken this offseason, I’d imagine the Halos would prefer giving their younger arms like Patrick Sandoval and Jaime Barria opportunities. Top prospects Chris Rodriguez and Reid Detmers could also see some time as starters, rather than have a soon-to-be 31-year old pitcher like Odorizzi clog a rotation spot. Manager Joe Maddon has also said he plans to use Shohei Ohtani regularly in a six-man rotation.

It’d be one thing if Odorizzi has proven to be a top of the rotation type of ace, but I would rather see any one of the pitchers mentioned above get their shot. At some point, the Angels will need to see who can be used in a future rotation, so they might as well start to give them meaningful starts now.

The Angels have younger starters who should have opportunities this season.

Suppose general manager Perry Minasian rolled the dice and got aggressive. In that case, it’s possible the Halos could have signed Odorizzi and traded starters currently on the roster to improve other areas of the team. Of course, that’s easier said than done, and it doesn’t appear the Angels are in any rush to gamble for a chance to improve their contending odds.

That just about does it for quality starting pitchers on the free-agent market. Veterans Cole Hamels and Rick Porcello headline the current list, but they don’t fit what the Angels need at the moment.

If the Halos need to make an impact-rotation addition at some point this season, it most likely will come in the form of a trade.