Cubs Acquire 9-Year Veteran, Longtime Phillies Starter

The Chicago Cubs are starting to develop a reputation for sparking career turnarounds with veteran pitchers.

After Brad Keller and Drew Pomeranz broke out in the Cubs’ bullpen last year, a large group of veterans is joining Chicago’s spring training in hopes of discovering a new secret formula. On Tuesday, a nine-year veteran whose last major league outing came in 2023 joined that crew.

According to the official transactions log, the Cubs signed 33-year-old Vince Velasquez to a minor-league contract on Tuesday. Chicago has not updated its official list of non-roster invitees, but Velasquez should be a part of the proceedings at major league camp in Arizona starting next week.

Most baseball fans likely recognize Velasquez from his time in a Philadelphia Phillies uniform. The right-hander made 133 appearances in a Phillies uniform from 2016 to 2021, including 116 starts. He had a 4.93 ERA on the whole, but struck out 642 batters in 582 2/3 innings.

After brief stints for the San Diego Padres, Chicago White Sox, and Pittsburgh Pirates, Velasquez underwent Tommy John surgery in June 2023. He missed the 2024 campaign, then returned last year to pitch for the Cleveland Guardians’ Triple-A affiliate, then the Lotte Giants of the Korean Baseball Organization.

We’ve never seen Velasquez consistently get batters out at the major league level, but the fact that he’s consistently put up high strikeout totals makes him an interesting bullpen candidate.

The Cubs are also bringing former major leaguers Trent Thornton, Collin Snider, and Corbin Martin to camp on non-roster invites, so there will be a lot of healthy competition going on for the final few spots in the bullpen.