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After being designated for assignment by the Padres on Saturday, right-hander Edinson Volquez was placed on unconditional release waivers and can now be picked up by any team. The 30-year old will either be claimed off release waivers or will clear waivers and become a free agent, at which point he can sign with any team. According to Dennis Deitch of the Delaware County Daily Times, the Philadelphia Phillies are discussing the idea of signing Volquez for the remainder of the season.
Volquez did, in fact, make it through and was granted his release. Phillies have had discussions about him.
— Dennis Deitch (@DennisDeitch) August 26, 2013
Jim Salisbury of CSNPhilly.com writes that Phillies general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. confirmed the team's interest to the media, saying "we've talked about it internally".
The Phillies, who are working towards rebuilding after a disastrous 2013 season, are known to be willing to try out players who were let go by other teams in the last month of the season. As evidenced by the team's recent signing of outfielder Roger Bernardina, Philadelphia is using September to give players a chance to earn their spot on the 2014 roster.
Volquez, struggled mightily in 27 starts with the Padres on the year. In 142.1 innings of work, the righty posted a 9-10 record with a 6.01 ERA, 7.3 K/9, and 4.4 BB/9. At the time of his release, he was tied with Yankees' lefty CC Sabathia for the highest number of earned runs allowed on the season (95).
Although Volquez has struggled over the past five seasons with the Reds and Padres, he has still drawn interest from teams looking to add a back-of-the-rotation arm. According to Bill Center of U-T San Diego, many teams had interest in acquiring Volquez in advance of the non-waiver trade deadline on July 31st, including the Orioles and Red Sox. Because of the strong interest a month ago, it would not be surprising to see a team like the Phillies take a flier on Volquez to eat innings in the final month of the season.
In nine major league seasons with the Rangers (2005-2007), Reds (2008-2011) and Padres (2012-2013), Volquez is 53-50 with a 4.77 ERA in 153 career appearances (149 starts). He was an All-Star in his rookie campaign with Cincinnati in 2008, and finished fourth in the NL Rookie of the Year voting that season. The Reds shipped him to San Diego following the 2011 season along with Yonder Alonso, Brad Boxberger and Yasmani Grandal in exchange for starter Mat Latos, who has been excellent in his two years in Cincinnati.