Royals Add Edinson Volquez To Bolster Starting Rotation

The Kansas City Royals will bolster their rotation by signing former Pirates pitcher Edinson Volquez to a two-year deal.

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Making up for lost time, the Kansas City Royals have been busy since the end of the winter meetings, signing DH/1B Kendrys Morales and OF Alex Rios on Monday and will reportedly add pitcher Edinson Volquez to a two-year deal.

Volquez, who went 13-7 with a 3.04 ERA for the Pittsburgh Pirates last season, will earn an estimated $20 million as he will fill the void created by the free agent departure of James Shields. The 31-year-old made the start for the Pirates in their National League Wild Card loss to the eventual World Series champion San Francisco Giants.

Kansas City will mark the sixth team for Volquez, who will enter his 11th season in 2015. Originally a product of the Texas Rangers system, Volquez has also pitched with the Cincinnati Reds, San Diego Padres and Los Angeles Dodgers before spending last year with the Pirates. He has a career record of 66-59 in 191 appearances.

Volquez projects as the Royals’ number two starter behind Yordano Ventura, with Jeremy Guthrie, Jason Vargas and Danny Duffy rounding out the rotation.

The Royals are counting on the addition of Volquez to provide another veteran arm, while they are also banking on the bats of Morales and Rios to improve an offense that ranked 13th in the American League in home runs last season.

As for the Pirates, the loss of Volquez will hurt, as he had found success working with pitching coach Ray Searage. Pittsburgh re-signed A.J. Burnett as a potential buffer for losing Volquez to free agency.

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