Kansas City's front office isn't waiting around for the trade deadline to start restocking arms. On July 11, MLB Trade Rumors confirmed the Royals signed 34-year-old righty Vince Velasquez to a minor league contract, a low-cost, low-risk add that gives the org another veteran option to throw innings at Triple-A Omaha.
Royals Sign Vince Velasquez To Minor League Contract t.co/6y6R0nMlMU
Velasquez is about as journeyman as it gets at this point. Drafted by the Astros back in 2010, he's since bounced through Philadelphia, San Diego, the White Sox and Pittsburgh, with a KBO stint in South Korea and a farm-system detour with Cleveland mixed in along the way. His most recent MLB run came with the Cubs, who signed him to a minors deal in February, called him up twice, and then designated him for assignment after he cleared waivers. He elected free agency on June 30 rather than accept another outright assignment.
Before elbow inflammation shut him down in early May, Velasquez actually looked decent in Chicago's system, posting a 3.06 ERA across 7 starts, though the underlying numbers suggested regression was coming toward his career 4.84 mark. He also missed all of 2024 recovering from elbow surgery, so durability remains the real question here, not stuff.
For the Royals, this is exactly the kind of low-stakes flier that makes sense with the trade deadline looming. Kansas City can use Velasquez as rotation depth or bullpen insurance at Omaha, keeping options open in case injuries or a deadline trade thin out the big-league staff. Nobody's circling this on the calendar, but pitching depth wins August and September, and it costs the Royals almost nothing to find out if there's anything left in the tank.
Don't expect fireworks here — this is a paperwork transaction, not a headline swing. But for a Royals team trying to build sustainable pitching depth around its core, these are the moves that either quietly pay off in a September call-up or quietly disappear. Worth keeping an eye on Omaha's rotation over the next few weeks to see which one it is.