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Pirates Are Reportedly Eyeing Jake Odorizzi

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Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times has a brief mention of the Pirates in his winter meetings notes today, saying that the Pirates are eyeing right-handed pitcher Jake Odorizzi. Topkin notes that a lot of the focus for the Rays has been on Chris Archer, with the Braves and Cubs going after the top starter. He then says that other teams are setting their sights on other Rays starters, and mentions the Pirates and Odorizzi as an example.

This isn’t the first time we’ve heard the Pirates connected to Odorizzi or the Rays’ starters. The same was taking place at the trade deadline this year, with the Pirates linked to pretty much all of the Tampa Bay rotation.

Odorizzi is projected to make $4.6 M in his first year of arbitration in 2017. He has averaged a 2.3 fWAR in the last three seasons, with two years at a 2.0, and one year at 2.9. Projecting out a 2.3 WAR each year going forward, and giving him $6.9 and $9.2 M in salary his final two years (60% and 80% of his free agent value, respectively), he would be worth about $35 M in trade value. There are a lot of ways to get to that trade value without giving up a big piece, so a potential return would really depend on whether the Rays were seeking a top prospect, or if they’d go for a guy lower in the top 100 and include a few other higher ranked prospects.

This is basically the situation the Pirates are in with McCutchen, asking for top prospects, with other teams trying to get him for a larger package of lower ranked guys. Considering the weak starting pitching market, I couldn’t see the Pirates getting Odorizzi without giving up one of their top four or five prospects in a deal.

Tim Williams
Tim Williams
Tim is the owner, producer, editor, and lead writer of PiratesProspects.com. He has been running Pirates Prospects since 2009, becoming the first new media reporter and outlet covering the Pirates at the MLB level in 2011 and 2012. His work can also be found in Baseball America, where he has been a contributor since 2014 and the Pirates' correspondent since 2019.

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