The Kansas City Royals added a veteran arm to their system Saturday, signing right-hander Vince Velasquez to a minor league contract. He’s been assigned to Triple-A Omaha.
Velasquez, 34, became a free agent on June 30 after turning down an outright assignment to Triple-A Iowa. The Cubs had designated him for assignment, and because he’d been outrighted before in his career, he had the right to reject it. He took the out.
The Cubs originally signed him to a minor league deal back in February. They called him up twice this season to the big league roster. Both times, he was DFA’d shortly after. Earlier this year, he actually elected free agency following a previous DFA, then re-signed with Chicago on another minor league contract. This time, he decided to keep his season going with the Royals organization.
Velasquez made two appearances for the Cubs in 2026. Total line: 3 1/3 scoreless innings. That was his first MLB action since 2023. He sat out all of 2024 recovering from elbow surgery, including Tommy John. In 2025, he pitched in the KBO League and also spent time in the Cleveland Guardians’ farm system.
A Career Full of Twists
The right-hander has played parts of 10 MLB seasons since debuting with the Houston Astros in 2015. He was a second-round pick in the 2010 draft out of Garey High School in Pomona, California. At one point, MLB Pipeline and Baseball Prospectus both ranked him among the top 100 prospects in baseball. In his rookie season with Houston, he posted a 4.37 ERA across 55 2/3 innings in 19 games, seven of them starts.
Velasquez spent six seasons with the Phillies from 2016 through 2021. Over 133 appearances (116 starts), he put up a 4.93 ERA with 642 strikeouts and 243 walks in 582 2/3 innings. Philadelphia DFA’d him in September 2021, then released him. He later signed a minor league deal with San Diego.
What He Brings to Kansas City
The Royals get a guy who can work as a starter or a long reliever. That flexibility matters, especially with the depth issues a lot of clubs face by midsummer. But let’s be real: his numbers at Triple-A Iowa this season weren’t pretty. He had a 6.15 ERA over 33 2/3 innings, with a walk rate of 16.2% and a strikeout rate of 26%. Control has always been the issue with him.
Still, for a Royals team that’s trying to stay afloat in the AL Central, a cheap veteran arm with some big league experience isn’t the worst gamble. They’ll see what he’s got in Omaha.
Leave a Comment