2016 World Series champion pitcher would be an interesting project for Rays

It's all the rage.

All the cool kids are doing it, and the Rays are one of the biggest culprits.

It's the new fad, the new trend: turning relievers into starters.

Now, this isn't a totally cutting-edge, new-fangled approach; most of these pitchers came up as starters and were only thrown into the bullpen due to need, effectiveness issues, or a combination of both.

But the idea is becoming even more popular than ever, as now teams look at bringing in free-agent relievers and try to get more bang for their buck.

The good news is that even if these guys don't work out as starters, the team can always move them back to the bullpen.

Enter Carl Edwards, Jr., another pitcher attempting to accomplish this feat to get a chance to earn a more solidified role in the majors.

Edwards, Jr. is mostly known for his early days with that magical 2016 Cubs team, where he was quite the effective pitcher. The South Carolina native posted a ridiculous 13 K/9 and sub-3 FIP marks that season.

The bad news is that things have only gotten worse from there.

Edwards, Jr. has bounced around from the Cubs to the Nationals, and then to the Mariners. Finally, he appeared in a one-game cameo with the Padres in 2024.

His four-seam fastball velocity has declined a bit over the years, as he sat around 94 mph in 2022 and 2023 with the Nationals. This was a drop-off from the near-96 range he had with Chicago.

Edwards, Jr. still ranks among the league leaders in extension though, and his fastball spin rates are always among the best in baseball.

However, he still suffers from control issues, with pretty high walk rates throughout his career, spiking at 6.88 BB/9 in 2019 over 22 games. Those numbers dropped down to 3.63 and 4.83 over his last 2 full seasons with the Nationals in 2022 and 2023.

His curveball has gotten a lot worse over the years despite his fastball remaining relatively effective, and he's started to develop a bit of a changeup, which he even used more than his curveball for the first time in his career in 2023.

Plus, the Stuff+ models haven't loved Edwards, Jr., with his fastball and complimentary offerings coming in as below-average over those 2 seasons in Washington and not much to offer in the Location+ mark in those seasons either.

The good news is that so far over 4 starts in the Mexican Pacific Winter League he's gotten his walk rate down to 2.3 BB/9, but he's also sacrificed a bit in the strikeout area, as he's only got 6.3 K/9 over that time.

That's a super small sample though, and those metrics aren't league-adjusted, so who's to even say if there's anything to glean so far, but he has finished 23 innings over those four starts, a hopeful start for the potential starter.

With the Rays possibly looking to deal Zack Littell or another starter and always seeking pitching depth, Edwards, Jr. would be a fun, cheap swing-man option that the Rays could try out in both the rotation and bullpen.

Seeing the Rays take a chance on the 33-year-old right-hander wouldn't be a surprise.