After an injury and overseas struggles, veteran pitcher Vince Velasquez inks a minor league deal, aiming for a comeback and adding valuable depth.
The Chicago Cubs have been very active upgrading their Minor League depth ahead of the 2026 season.
Over the past month, the Cubs have claimed Justin Dean off waivers and signed Chas McCormick, Dylan Carlson, and Owen Miller to Minor League deals. Those moves improve the team’s depth entering Spring Training.
While the front office has focused on adding position players on Minor League deals, the team has also been involved in the pitcher market. They signed Gabe Klobosits to a Minor League contract last week and recently signed Vince Velasquez to that same type of deal.
It has been a few years since Velasquez has pitched in the Major Leagues. He last pitched with the Pittsburgh Pirates in 2023, where he had a 3.86 ERA and 37 strikeouts across 37 ⅓ innings pitched.
The right-hander pitched well to start the 2023 season before suffering an elbow injury in late May. Velasquez eventually underwent season-ending elbow surgery and missed the remainder of that campaign.
The surgery to repair his right ulnar collateral ligament (UCL) and flexor tendon caused Velasquez to miss most of the 2023 season and all of the 2024 season.
Despite a longer recovery, Velasquez was finally healthy coming into the 2025 season. He signed a Minor League deal with the Cleveland Guardians in early February, hoping to make the team out of Spring Training.
Although he didn’t make the Guardians’ Opening Day roster, the veteran carried a solid ERA throughout his Triple-A tenure. He had a 3.42 ERA across 18 starts before being released to pursue an opportunity in the Korean Baseball Organization (KBO) overseas.
The numbers for Velasquez weren’t great in his limited time in the KBO. The 33-year-old allowed 32 runs across 35 innings pitched (8.23 ERA) to go with only 28 strikeouts with the Lotte Giants.
However, the Cubs are giving Velasquez an opportunity to show his potential throughout Spring Training. He looked good on the mound before suffering an elbow injury in 2023 and posted solid numbers at Triple-A Columbus last year.
More importantly, the nine-year veteran gives the North Siders much-needed depth in Triple-A.
President of baseball operations Jed Hoyer has been a major proponent of the idea that there’s no such thing as having too many pitchers. Injuries happen all the time, and Velasquez gives the Cubs another potential starting pitcher down in the Minors.
Velasquez has appeared in 191 games in his Major League career.