Three Free Agents the Philadelphia Phillies Should Sign
Jake Odorizzi, RHP, MIN
More from Call to the Pen
- Philadelphia Phillies, ready for a stretch run, bomb St. Louis Cardinals
- Philadelphia Phillies: The 4 players on the franchise’s Mount Rushmore
- Boston Red Sox fans should be upset over Mookie Betts’ comment
- Analyzing the Boston Red Sox trade for Dave Henderson and Spike Owen
- 2023 MLB postseason likely to have a strange look without Yankees, Red Sox, Cardinals
This move would not be as big as a splash as the other two, but Jake Odorizzi would give the Philadelphia Phillies a lot of depth in their rotation, but he will be a strong fourth or fifth starter for the club.
There will be openings in their rotation as Jason Vargas and Drew Smyly are both free agents.
Coming off of his first All-Star season, the righty is just reaching his prime. Showing a lot of improvement from 2018, he is going to continue to get better.
Over 30 starts, he went 15-7 with an ERA of 3.51, while striking out 178 batters over 159 innings for the Minnesota Twins. He helped Minnesota with the American League Central division.
Having a rotation with depth will always improve the team’s chance at making the postseason. If Philadelphia goes after Bumgarner and Odorizzi, their rotation could look like this:
1. Madison Bumgarner
2. Aaron Nola
3. Jake Arrieta
4. Jake Odorizzi
5. Zach Eflin
6. Vince Velazquez
This rotation would be so much more consistent and deeper than their 2018 rotation. This would allow them to challenge the New York Mets’ and Washington Nationals’ rotations. It has been shown that spending money on starting pitching will give teams better chances on making the playoffs.