A REVAMPED

right-handed pitcher Jake Odorizzi and cash considerations from the Atlanta Braves in exchange for left-handed pitcher Kolby Allard.

Odorizzi, who turns 33 on March 27, combined to go 6-6 with a 4.40 ERA over 22 games/starts with Houston and Atlanta in 2022. The veteran starter began the year with Houston and was acquired by Atlanta in an August 2 trade for reliever Will Smith. He also spent nearly two months on the Injured List from May 17-July 3 with left lower leg discomfort. When he suffered the left leg injury while attempting to cover first base in a start on May 16 at Boston, Odorizzi had a 3-2 record with a 3.13 ERA over 7 starts to begin the year. He made 10 starts with Atlanta to finish the year and was on the Braves’ Division Series roster for the club’s series loss against the Phillies.

Odorizzi owns a lifetime 74-69 record and 3.99 ERA (555 ER/1253.1 IP) over 241 games/237 starts across 11 Major League seasons with Kansas City (2012), Tampa Bay (201317), Minnesota (2018-20), Houston (2021-22), and Atlanta (2022). He earned his first and only career All-Star selection in 2019 as a member of the Twins, going 15-7 with a 3.51 ERA (62 ER/159.0 IP) and career-high 178 strikeouts. Since 2014, his 231 starts are 5th-most in MLB among righthanders behind only Max Scherzer (256), Zack Greinke (255), Kyle Gibson (251), and Gerrit Cole (248).

On December 9, Texas signed free agent left-handed pitcher Andrew Heaney to a two-year contract covering the 2023-24 seasons.

Heaney, 31, went 4-4 with a 3.10 ERA over 16 games/14 starts for the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2022, enduring a pair of stints on the Injured List: April 20-June 18 (left shoulder discomfort) and June 24-July 26 (left shoulder inflammation). He recorded 110 strikeouts while issuing just 19 walks last season, as his career-best 13.62 strikeouts per 9 innings figure was the 2nd-highest mark among pitchers with at least 70.0 innings.

Since the start of 2019, Heaney ranks among Major League pitchers (min. 350.0 IP) in strikeouts per 9 innings (9th, 11.07), swing-and-miss strike pct. (14th, 13.8%), strikeout pct. (15th, 28.8%), and strikeout-to-walk ratio (21st, 4.11).

The nine-year Major League veteran has gone 36-42 with a 4.56 ERA (358 ER/707.0 IP ) over 137 games/126 starts with Miami (2014), Los Angeles-AL (2015-21), New York-AL (2021), and Los Angeles-NL (2022). He has struck out 760 of 2995 (25.4%) batters faced in his career, the 7th-highest strikeout percentage among active left-handed pitchers with at least 100 MLB starts.

The Rangers then closed the year on a high note by signing free agent right-handed pitcher Nathan Eovaldi to a two-year contract covering the 2023-24 seasons on December 27. The deal also includes a vesting player option for the 2025 campaign.