Phillies: Low Cost Starting Pitching Options in Free Agency

Edinson Volquez

Ever since a breakout year in 2008, Edinson Volquez has been trying to recapture that magic. After spending the 2014 season with Pirates’ “pitching guru” Ray Searage, Volquez was finally able to tap into the early success he experienced back in Cincinnati.

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The two years he spent in Kansas City following his resurgence turned out to be a wash. He posted a solid 3.55 ERA over 200.1 innings in his first season with the Royals, but failed to maintain that level of play.

Volquez is a low-cost option because his ERA ballooned to 5.37 this year, and he posted the second-lowest strikeout rate of his career (6.61 K/9).

Because of struggles, it seems likely that the Royals will buy Volquez out of his contract for a cool $3 million, rather than employing him for another year at $10 million.

What he can do for Philadelphia is eat up around 190 innings, and hopefully get his ERA somewhere between 3.50-4.50 again. For what they’ll pay him, that’s better than another season of Jeremy Hellickson.

Estimated Offer – 1 year/$8 million