Advertisement

Pirates' gamble on Volquez paying off

 
Edinson Volquez, who posted a 5.71 ERA last season, finished his first season with the Pirates with a 3.04 ERA in a team-high 32 starts.
Edinson Volquez, who posted a 5.71 ERA last season, finished his first season with the Pirates with a 3.04 ERA in a team-high 32 starts.
Published Oct. 1, 2014

PITTSBURGH — Edinson Volquez's renaissance began with a simple game of catch.

During his brief session with Pirates pitching coach Ray Searage on that January day at the team's training facility in Bradenton, the talented but erratic right-hander listened as Searage outlined a plan to help the 31-year-old regain the form that once made him an All-Star.

"He felt wanted," Searage said. "That builds trust."

Ten months later, Volquez will try to repay that trust by sending the Pirates into the NL Division Series for the second straight year when he starts tonight's wild-card game against the Giants.

The raucous scene that awaits Volquez at PNC Park is in stark contrast to his ignominious exit from San Diego last summer, when the foundering Padres released him after a miserable stretch in which his ERA ballooned to 6.01.

"It's kind of sad a little bit," he said. "You feel like your career is over."

He ended 2013 with the Dodgers, where he showed minor improvement before hitting the free-agent market. But most teams hardly seemed interested in signing a pitcher who spent a half-decade struggling with his command and composure.

Yet he found a home in Pittsburgh, where the clubhouse has become an Ellis Island of sorts for players looking to regain something they've lost.

A year ago it was left-hander Francisco Liriano, who signed with the Pirates and posted a 3.02 ERA in 26 starts, his first sub-5.00 ERA since 2010. Liriano and Volquez are good friends, and though the $5 million flier Pittsburgh took on Volquez raised eyebrows, he remained confident he could make the changes necessary to become competitive.

"People (who) know about baseball, they knew I was really close to getting ready to go," Volquez said.

Searage tweaked Volquez's delivery. Catcher Russell Martin worked with him to set a steady pace during games, often hustling to the mound when Volquez starts working too quickly. When Volquez gets out of rhythm, his mechanics run amok.

"Early on he couldn't control it. He had elbows and knees flying all over the place," Searage said. "Now he's able to control it better. That's the biggest thing between a major-leaguer and a minor-leaguer — they basically have the same stuff, but it all comes up to (their mental approach)."

Volquez responded by posting a 3.04 ERA in a team-high 32 starts and had a 1.64 ERA in his last 11.

Tonight's start is the biggest of his career, but Volquez isn't exactly sweating it.

"I've got to pitch my game and be myself," he said.