The San Diego Padres officially cut ties with Edinson Volquez on Tuesday, granting the laboring right-hander his outright release, reports Corey Brock of MLB.com. The Padres had designated Volquez for assignment over the weekend.
Volquez, 30, struggled mightily for the Friars this season. The right-hander posted an MLB-worst 6.07 earned-run average in 142⅓ innings, lasting into the eighth inning in just three of his 27 starts. Making matters worse for Volquez is that he put up those numbers while making more than half his starts in Petco Park, one of the pitcher-friendliest ballparks in baseball.
Acquired from the Reds in the 2011 Mat Latos trade, Volquez pitched fairly well during his first season in San Diego, and -- as the club's 2013 Opening Day starter -- was supposed to be the anchor of an injury-plagued staff this season. The right-hander lasted just three innings in his first outing of the year, however, which turned out to be an omen of things to come.
Volquez managed to walk fewer batters this season than in years past, but career-worst marks (full season) in strikeouts per nine (7.3) and BABIP (.339) made the advantage of his new-found control pretty much nil.
The right-hander is just barely on the wrong side of 30, and has had success in the not-too-distant past, so his chances of landing at least a minor-league deal with another club are pretty good.
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