The Rangers’ first acquisition of their pitching-centric offseason makeover is done for the year without throwing a pitch for the team.
General manager Chris Young said Friday right-hander Jake Odorizzi underwent a surgical procedure Thursday to perform a debridement of some damaged areas in his shoulder. The recovery will mean Odorizzi, acquired in a trade with Atlanta in November, will not pitch this year. In all likelihood, he won’t pitch for the Rangers at all. He is a free agent after the season.
Odorizzi, 33, was acquired from Atlanta for Kolby Allard to give the Rangers a head start on overhauling the rotation with veteran starters. The Braves did not have room for him and offered him to the Rangers, along with $10 million of his $12.5 million salary. The Rangers are out $2.5 million on the deal.
Odorizzi expressed concerns during spring training over his arm feeling fatigued and sore. Rehab options were exhausted before the surgery.
“We were counting on him, with his experience, to pitch meaningful innings for us,” Young said. “It stinks. But it’s an opportunity for other guys to step up. And that’s the beauty of this staff, we feel like we still have good depth and guys like Dane Dunning and Cole Ragans have already stepped up. It’s a blow, but we knew we would go through something like this.”
After the Rangers acquired Odorizzi, they re-signed Martín Pérez, Jacob deGrom, Andrew Heaney and found Nathan Eovaldi receptive just before Christmas. The Eovaldi signing essentially meant Odorizzi would have to move to the bullpen, something he’d never done before.
