[McCullough] The Royals nearly swung a trade with the Atlanta Braves for Jake Odorizzi in November 2022 during the GM Meetings, potentially reuniting with a former top 100 prospect who was one of the pieces sent to the Tampa Bay Rays in December 2012 for James Shields and Wade Davis.

A few days after the final out of the 2022 World Series, as baseball executives gathered in Las Vegas for the GM Meetings, Alex Anthopoulos approached Kansas City Royals executive J.J. Picollo. The two men had crossed paths for years in scouting circles, but were not particularly close. Anthopoulos intended to trade pitcher Jake Odorizzi and wondered if Kansas City wanted him. Picollo had just taken over the Royals’ baseball operations department after spending his career in player development, and was still learning the transactional rhythms.

“I went upstairs and said, ‘Guys, do we have interest in Odorizzi?’” Picollo said. “We were kicking it around, kicking it around. The next day (Anthopoulos) traded him. OK. I learned something. If he calls, it’s going to happen.”