Miami Marlins: Three Offseason Blunders Made This Winter
By Tim Boyle
Edinson Volquez Signing
If the mission was to add a fourth or fifth starter then the Edinson Volquez signing was a great one by the Marlins. However, this was not the case. Miami signed him because they needed someone to compete for the Opening Day start.
Replacing Fernandez seemed like a mission for Miami this winter. It did, unfortunately, come in a year when not many solid options were available in free agency. Volquez was one of the more experienced choices among unemployed starters, so the Marlins went with him. The $9 million he’ll earn in 2017 and $13 guaranteed for 2018 are not going to crash the Miami payroll anytime soon. Still, they could have made better choices. After all, Jason Hammel just signed a two-year deal with the Kansas City Royals for $6 million less than Miami will pay Volquez. Coincidentally, Volquez was non-tendered by the Royals earlier this offseason.
Prior to 2016, this would have been a praise-worthy transaction. Volquez was reliable during the last few seasons. His 2015 World Series was a remarkable ride. This was not the case last year, as he went 10-11 with a 5.37 ERA. The ERA was partly due to several horrifying outings which saw Volquez knocked out early.
Volquez can turn this signing into a positive by reaching back into the 2014 and 2015 seasons. He won a lucky 13 games each of those seasons. The 2014 season was especially solid as he posted a career-low 3.04 ERA with the Pittsburgh Pirates. A move back to the National League could yield similar results. However, Volquez was not an especially strong pitcher in his earlier days with the Cincinnati Reds and San Diego Padres. So, to think changing leagues will help him is a stretch.