Vólquez vying for 'pen: 'I can still pitch'

ARLINGTON -- Edinson Vólquez’s wife Roandry gave birth to the couple’s third daughter, Ayesha, on June 24 in the Dominican Republic.

The blessed event made Vólquez think long and hard about coming back to the Rangers once the shutdown ended.

“I was close to staying home,” Vólquez said. “It’s not only my family, but the situation we’re going through right now. The entire world. The virus is everywhere. I don’t want to get sick and go back and get everybody sick back at home. That was 90 percent of it.”

Vólquez and his wife had a long conversation, and he decided to come back while Roandry and his daughters remain in the Dominican.

“I know it’s going to be hard because we have a lot of young guys, good, talented guys,” Vólquez said. “I came back to do the best I can, so she agreed to see me play a little more this year and that was it. I felt I can still pitch.”

Vólquez pitched in the intrasquad game on Monday night and delivered two scoreless innings with a walk and three strikeouts. His fastball topped out at 95 mph.

Vólquez, who turned 37 on July 3, needed the performance to improve his chances of making the Opening Day roster because that’s still in doubt. Vólquez, who talked about retiring after last season, is on a Minor League deal and the competition is fierce.

“He is definitely a candidate for the team,” manager Chris Woodward said. “I wouldn’t put him on just yet. We’ve all been impressed. There is obviously still a lot of life left in the fastball. You see his changeup still plays. He looks good. Physically, he feels good. Mentally, he is in a good place.”

The Rangers will carry more than the normal eight relievers on a 30-man Opening Day roster. Still to be determined is how many of those extra four players will be relievers. A stable rotation may lead Woodward to use more than one of those spots for a position player.

“[Vólquez] brings a lot of value to our ballclub from a leadership standpoint,” Woodward said. “He has pretty much done everything in the game you can imagine, so we would definitely love to have him. But as far as that goes, he still has to have the stuff.”

The Rangers' bullpen will be led by closer José Leclerc with Nick Goody, Jesse Chavez and Rafael Montero as the right-handed setup relievers. The left side is unknown because Joely Rodríguez is down with a strained lat muscle and Brett Martin has yet to be cleared to work out.

Left-hander Taylor Hearn and right-hander Jonathan Hernández lack experience and big league success but the Rangers are enamored with their sheer talent. Beyond that, Vólquez is among a group of veteran right-handers competing for a spot. That group includes Cody Allen, Luis García, Ian Gibaut, Jimmy Herget, Derek Law and Juan Nicasio.

“I just want to keep pitching and show them what I’ve got,” Vólquez said. “Show what I can do. I predict what I can do, but they don’t know. They are not 100 percent. Depends if I am still healthy. After stopping for a couple months, starting over is really hard for any pitcher.”

Vólquez began last season in the Rangers' rotation, but lasted just two starts and a 7.04 ERA before going on the injured list with a sprained right elbow. He returned in September and was used out of the bullpen. He had a 6.48 ERA and a 1.68 WHIP in nine appearances, but the Rangers were still willing to bring him back on a Minor League contract.

Vólquez's fastball averaged 93.4 mph last season, which was close to where he was in 2015-17 before undergoing Tommy John surgery. Statcast also had both the 2,726 rpm on his curve and plus-3.8 inches of drop on his changeup being above the Major League average.

What those numbers mean is there are reasons to give Vólquez a chance beyond what his veteran leadership would do for the Rangers' bullpen.

“Our bullpen right now, I'm really excited to see Jonathan Hernández, Leclerc, and all those young guys that have good arms,” Vólquez said. “Chavez is a veteran guy, he knows how to pitch. Being next to those guys is really exciting; I can't wait to see what they can do, especially in a short season. Hopefully, I'll make the team and stay [with] them.”