Kansas City Royals Have Options for Fifth Starter in 2017
The Kansas City Royals had some problems with their starting rotation in 2016, but the good news is that some of the kinks look to be worked out. The team will have plenty of options for next season.
We’re all aware of how poorly the KC Royals‘ starting pitching was through a good chunk of the 2016 season, but hey! That paves the way for next year’s rotation to be pretty dang solid.
This is all just speculation obviously, but the first four guys in the starting rotation could possibly be set already. Danny Duffy would be the go-to number one guy, otherwise known as an ace, Yordano Ventura would be the number two starter, Ian Kennedy could eat up innings as the number three, and Jason Vargas will hopefully stay healthy enough to be the number four guy.
With that fifth spot up for grabs, the KC Royals have plenty of options to consider there. Let’s take a look at some right now.
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Edinson Volquez
Edinson Volquez signed with the Royals before the 2015 season and became the team’s best starter that year. He started Games 1 and 5 of the World Series and it’s safe to say this team wouldn’t be World Series champs without him in Royal blue that year.
While Volquez had a great 2015 campaign, his 2016 season has been awful. As of September 19th, Volquez has pitched in 31 games this season and has a terrible 5.40 ERA with a 10-11 record.
Volquez’s two-year deal is up after this season, but the Royals could decide to give him that qualifying offer. It’d be worth around $16.7 million, which is a lot of money to shell out for a fifth starter.
At the same time though, the free agent market for starting pitchers isn’t all that great, and Volquez could be a decent option for the team. Volquez could be one of the better free agents on the market though, so he may decide he wants to test the free agent waters.
Honestly, and I know this sounds harsh, but the Royals should let Volquez walk. $16.7 million for the fifth guy in the rotation is too much. It’d be a better idea to extend the qualifying offer to Kendrys Morales instead.