Odorizzi thought he had deal with Mets: Free agency was 'frustrating'

To say Jake Odorizzi wasn't a fan of free agency is an understatement, but his opinions of the New York Mets might be at an all-time low after being snubbed by them in the offseason.

"My time in free agency this year was my single most frustrating time I've ever had in baseball," Odorizzi said on "The Chris Rose Rotation" on Thursday.

"At certain points, you think you're going to be a member of a certain team, and then it falls through ... And then it's March, and you're like, 'Alright, I'm still sitting at the house, what the hell is going on right now?'"

The 31-year-old singled out the Mets as a team that left him hanging over a contract he was sure would get signed.

"Early on, I thought I was going to be a member of a certain team, and some people took over that team, and they pretty much hated me ... It was Trevor's team," Odorizzi said about Mets pitcher Trevor May, who also appeared on the show.

"It was before the hirings of their new people," Odorizzi continued. "It was one of those things where you get down the road far enough, 'Alright, things might happen,' and then a lot of weird, interesting things happened with that organization this offseason, good and bad."

The Mets were one of the many teams showing reported interest in Odorizzi last November, but it appears the right-hander's asking price was too high. Odorizzi was seeking a three-year contract in the $36-million to $42-million range, The Athletic's Ken Rosenthal reported in January.

"It's free agency, it's the game. How cheap can I get somebody? It was a weird one, that's for sure," Odorizzi said.

The Illinois native wound up settling for a two-year contract with the Houston Astros in March that guaranteed him $23.5 million.