Newest Phillie Gets Nod Tonight Versus Pirates

After being signed by the Phillies last Monday, right-hander Kevin Correia will make his 2015 big-league debut tonight against one of his many former teams, the Pittsburgh Pirates.

The 34-year-old will be the team’s new number five starter, replacing right-hander Severino Gonzalez. Correia joins a rotation that ranks 29th in ERA (4.83), 27th in batting average against (.276), and 28th in wins (15).

Over the last week, the Phillies’ rotation has struggled mightily, posting a MLB-worst 5.85 ERA. Opposing batters have been teeing off against the Phillies’ starters, and have recorded a .298 batting average over the same stretch.

Correia has played for five other teams during his 12-year MLB career. He was drafted by the Giants in the fourth round of the 2002 amateur draft, and made his major league debut for them in 2003. He spent six years with the Giants, and finished with a 14-22 record, a 4.59 ERA, a 1.492 WHIP, and 289 strikeouts in 398 innings-pitched.

After his time in San Francisco, Correia spent the 2009-2010 seasons with the Padres, where he compiled a 22-21 record with a 4.59 ERA. Correia then spent 2011-2012 with the Pirates, where he finished with an above .500 record at 24-22, and a 4.49 ERA.  He pitched for the Twins in 2013-2014 until he was traded to the Dodgers in August of 2014. In nine games (three starts, six relief appearances) for the Dodgers, Correia went 2-4 with an 8.03 ERA.

Correia returned to the Giants’ minor-league system this season, pitching for their Triple-A team and going 0-1 with a 3.58 ERA before being released on May 29.

Overall in his MLB career, Correia has a 76-95 record, a 4.59 ERA, and a 1.422 WHIP in 1,405.1 innings-pitched.

As a starter, Correia is 73-84 with a 4.60 ERA. As a reliever, he is 3-11 with a 4.56 ERA in 187.1 innings-pitched.

The Phillies considered signing the journeyman pitcher last offseason, but the two parties failed to settle on a deal. Now he’s here, and could be here for the remainder of the season, especially if the Phillies deal Cole Hamels and/or Aaron Harang.

As his numbers show, Corriea is not a game-changer for the Phillies’ starting rotation. Perhaps they will catch lightening in a bottle like they did with Jerome Williams last season, where he went 4-2 with a 2.83 ERA after signing with the Phills.