Tom Groeschen of the Cincinnati Enquirer reports that Reds starter Edinson Volquez has returned to the major league clubhouse and will take the mound on Tuesday night against the Cubs.
Volquez was demoted to Triple-A Louisville in late May after posting a 6.35 ERA and 1.67 WHIP in 51 big league innings and then blaming a lack of run support for his own poor results.
Volquez made two starts at Louisville, allowing 10 hits in 14 1/3 innings but only two earned runs. His attitude, for what it’s worth, does seem improved:
“I made a little adjustment in my mechanics,” Volquez told the Enquirer. “My delivery is better now and I can throw more strikes. My fastball command is better. It’s like Dusty says. Sometimes you have to go back to move forward. It’s something you don’t want to do. You don’t want to go down, but there’s nothing you can do. Just go down there and get better.”
Volquez arrived back in Cincinnati on Sunday morning and immediately went to the bullpen with Reds pitching coach Bryan Price to show off his new mechanics. We’ll have to wait and see how he fares against Chicago.