Andrew Velazquez - MLB News, Rumors, & Updates

Sent outright to Triple-A The Royals outrighted Velazquez to Triple-A Omaha on Wednesday.

Impact Velazquez had been booted from the 40-man roster 1-for-15 at the dish for the Royals. He has the ability to elect free agency, but if Velazquez sticks around he will give Kansas City some experienced infield depth at Omaha.

AUGUST 6 • ROTOWIRE

Royals All-Star shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. has 3 hits in his return from back injury

All-Star shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. had three hits and drove in two runs for the Kansas City Royals in his return from a back injury that cost him 11 games

AUGUST 4 • Associated Press

Royals activate Witt, designate Strahm for assignment The Royals activated shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. from the injured list before Tuesday night's game against the Twins at Kauffman Stadium, recal...

AUGUST 4 • MLB.COM

Scrubbed from 40-man roster The Royals designated Velazquez for assignment Tuesday.

Impact With Bobby Witt (back) returning from the injured list, there was no longer a roster spot available for Velazquez. The veteran utility player went 1-for-15 at the plate during his time with the big club.

AUGUST 4 • ROTOWIRE

Losing out on playing time Velazquez is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Rockies.

Impact Velazquez started in four of the Royals' ensuing five games following his call-up from Triple-A Omaha on July 22, but he's since seen his playing time fall by the wayside. He'll hit the bench Sunday for the fifth time in six games and could be in danger of being pushed off the roster when the Royals likely reinstate Bobby Witt (back) from the injured list Tuesday.

AUGUST 2 • ROTOWIRE

Michael Massey's 2-run, 2-out homer in 8th helps Royals beat Tigers 5-4 for 2nd straight win

Michael Massey hit a go-ahead, two-run homer with two outs in the eighth inning and the Kansas City Royals held on to beat the Detroit Tigers 5-4

JULY 26 • Associated Press

Gaining traction in middle infield Velazquez will start at second base and bat ninth in Sunday's game against the Tigers.

Impact Since he was called up from Triple-A Omaha on Wednesday after Bobby Witt (back) was placed on the injured list in a corresponding move, Velazquez has started in four of the Royals' ensuing five games. He'll be filling in Sunday at the keystone for Michael Massey, but Velazquez could end up being the preferred option at shortstop over Tyler Tolbert while Witt is on the mend. Velazquez has gone 1-for-9 with a stolen base through his first three contests with Kansas City.

JULY 26 • ROTOWIRE

Back in big leagues The Royals selected Velazquez's contract from Triple-A Omaha on Wednesday. He'll start at shortstop and bat ninth in the Royals' series finale versus the Giants.

Impact The 32-year-old utility player will return to the majors for the first time since the 2023 season, when he appeared in 54 games with the Angels. Velazquez has played both middle-infield positions and all three outfield spots during his time in the minors with the Royals and Diamondbacks organizations this season, but he could end up seeing most of his playing time at shortstop while he's up with Kansas City. He'll enter the starting nine right away at shortstop in place of Bobby Witt (back), who was placed on the 10-day injured list Wednesday. Along with Velazquez, Tyler Tolbert will also be in the mix for reps at shortstop while Witt is on the shelf.

JULY 22 • ROTOWIRE

Joins Diamondbacks Velazquez signed a minor-league contract with the Diamondbacks on Friday.

Impact Velazquez hasn't appeared in a professional game since the regular season began, but he'll get a chance with the Diamondbacks. He'll likely serve primarily as depth for the big-league club.

APRIL 19 • ROTOWIRE

Gets MiLB deal from Rangers The Rangers signed Velazquez to a minor-league contract Dec. 8.

Impact Velazquez spent all of this past season at Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre in the Yankees organization, slashing .242/.304/.345 with five homers and 25 steals. A career .189/.244/.293 hitter over parts of six big-league seasons, Velazquez will give the Rangers some experienced infield depth at Triple-A Round Rock.

DECEMBER 16, 2025 • ROTOWIRE

Signs MiLB deal with Yanks The Yankees signed Velazquez to a minor-league contract Thursday.

Impact New York just released Velazquez from his minors deal earlier this month, but he's returning to the organization and will rejoin Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre after slashing .244/.315/.342 with four home runs, 32 RBI, 42 runs scored, 23 stolen bases and a 27:74 BB:K across 311 plate appearances with the team prior to his release.

AUGUST 15, 2025 • ROTOWIRE

Sent to minors The Yankees reassigned Velazquez to minor-league camp Saturday.

Impact Velazquez didn't see MLB action in 2024, but he stuck around in big-league camp longer than anticipated and logged 44 plate appearances in the Grapefruit League as he competed for a reserve gig. Ultimately, the Yankees elected to carry fellow non-roster invitee Pablo Reyes on the Opening Day roster as a utility player. Velazquez is expected to report to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre and will likely spend the bulk of the season in the International League.

MARCH 27, 2025 • ROTOWIRE

Carlos Carrasco lands major league contract with Yankees following strong showing in spring training

Carlos Carrasco’s impressive spring performance has earned the right-hander a major league contract with New York and a spot in the Yankees’ rotation

MARCH 22, 2025 • Associated Press

Links up with Yanks as NRI The Yankees signed Velazquez to a minor-league contract Friday that includes an invitation to spring training, Jack Curry of YES Network reports.

Impact It's a homecoming of sorts for Velazquez, who grew up in the Bronx and played 28 games for the Yankees in 2021. The 30-year-old utility player is a career .189/.244/.293 hitter over parts of six seasons at the big-league level. He spent all of 2024 at Triple-A Gwinnett in the Atlanta organization, posting a .692 OPS with 16 homers and 33 steals.

JANUARY 3, 2025 • ROTOWIRE

Becomes free agent Velazquez elected to become a free agent Friday.

Impact Velazquez heads to the open market after being pushed off Atlanta's 40-man roster earlier this week. The 29-year-old infielder owns a weak .189/.244/.293 career major-league batting line and will likely have to settle for a minor-league contract leading into the 2024 season.

NOVEMBER 3, 2023 • ROTOWIRE

Sent outright to Triple-A Atlanta outrighted Velazquez to Triple-A Gwinnett on Wednesday.

Impact Velazquez was claimed off waivers from the Angels in early September but was immediately sent to Triple-A Gwinnett and finished out the season there. The 29-year-old journeyman shortstop is a career .189/.244/.293 hitter in 275 games (624 plate appearances) at the major-league level.

NOVEMBER 1, 2023 • ROTOWIRE

Braves add veteran shortstop Andrew Velazquez off waivers Velazquez has played for five teams across six seasons, the past two with the Angels.

SEPTEMBER 5, 2023 • AJC.COM

David O'Brien: The Braves claimed infielder Andrew Velazquez... - The Athletic The Braves claimed infielder Andrew Velazquez off waivers from the Angels and optioned him to Triple-A Gwinnett. To create room on the 40-ma...

SEPTEMBER 5, 2023 • THEATHLETIC.COM

Claimed by Atlanta Atlanta claimed Velazquez off waivers from the Angels on Tuesday and optioned him to Triple-A Gwinnett.

Impact Velazquez has typically performed well in the upper minors and plays excellent defense at shortstop, but the 29-year-old owns a career .189/.244/.293 batting line in 275 games (624 plate appearances) at the big-league level. He'll function as organizational infield depth down the stretch for the NL East leaders.

SEPTEMBER 5, 2023 • ROTOWIRE

Heads back to Triple-A The Angels optioned Velazquez to Triple-A Salt Lake on Sunday.

Impact Velazquez will head back to the minors after the Angels reinstated Matt Thaiss (shoulder) from the 10-day injured list in a corresponding move. With the Angels summoning fellow infielders Kyren Paris and Michael Stefanic from the minors Friday as their two September call-ups, the team didn't have much of a need to keep Velazquez on hand as a utility man.

SEPTEMBER 3, 2023 • ROTOWIRE

Homers as pinch hitter Velazquez hit a solo home run in his only at-bat in a loss to the Astros on Saturday.

Impact Velazquez batted for Brandon Drury with the game out of hand in the ninth inning and belted his second homer of the year, a solo shot off Hector Neris. The speedster has seen very limited playing time of late -- this was his first plate appearance since July 30 and his first hit since he went 3-for-4 against Detroit on July 25.

AUGUST 13, 2023 • ROTOWIRE

Retreats to bench Velazquez is out of the lineup for Monday's game against Atlanta, Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com reports.

Impact Zach Neto (back) will draw back in at shortstop Monday after missing seven of the Angels' last eight games, which likely spells an end to Velazquez's brief run as a regular in the lineup. Velazquez will move into a utility role and isn't expected to see frequent starting opportunities while both Neto and Luis Rengifo are available.

JULY 31, 2023 • ROTOWIRE

Tallies three hits in win Velazquez went 3-for-4 with a double and two runs scored in Tuesday's 7-6 victory over Detroit.

Impact Velasquez is now 4-for-7 with a double and a home run in his last two games after going 0-for-11 over his previous 10 contests. It's been a nice run for the 29-year-old utilityman, though he isn't likely to provide much long-term value offensively -- he's now slashing .245/.339/.347 with one homer, one RBI, nine runs scored and nine stolen bases across 57 plate appearances this season. If Zach Neto (back) is forced to miss time, Velasquez should see regular playing time at shortstop.

JULY 26, 2023 • ROTOWIRE

Swats first homer Velazquez went 1-for-3 with a solo home run Sunday in a 7-5 victory versus the Pirates.

Impact Velazquez hadn't started a game since before the All-Star break coming into the weekend, but he found his name in the starting lineup for the second straight day Sunday as a result of Zach Neto's back injury. Velazquez made the most of the opportunity, slugging his first homer of the season in the fifth inning. The speedy infielder is still slashing just .200/.308/.289 on the campaign, and with Neto possibly returning to action Tuesday, Velazquez will likely return to a bench role soon.

JULY 24, 2023 • ROTOWIRE

Relegated to bench role Velazquez hasn't started a game since prior to the All-Star break, though he's gotten into seven second-half contests as a pinch runner and/or defensive replacement.

Impact Velazquez was starting at shortstop fairly frequently in the week leading up to the break, but that opportunity dried up when Zach Neto returned from the injured list. Velazquez has subsequently served exclusively in a reserve role, primarily as a pinch runner. Though he's seen action in seven games since the start of the second half, he's logged only three plate appearances, going 0-for-2 with a walk. The Angels have been taking advantage of his speed, however, as Velazquez has tallied three stolen bases in three attempts during the seven-game span. Given his career .192/.247/.290 slash line, it's not a surprise that Velazquez hasn't been able to nail down a starting role.

JULY 22, 2023 • ROTOWIRE

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Royals All-Star shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. has 3 hits in his return from back injury

Michael Massey's 2-run, 2-out homer in 8th helps Royals beat Tigers 5-4 for 2nd straight win

Carlos Carrasco lands major league contract with Yankees following strong showing in spring training