Cardinals Sign Nelson Velazquez To Minor League Deal

The Cardinals announced their group of non-roster invitees to Spring Training this evening. Corner outfielder/designated hitter Nelson Velázquez is among the group, indicating they’ve signed him to a minor league contract.

Velázquez, 27, is looking to get back to the majors for the first time in two seasons. He bounced around last year after being outrighted off the Royals’ 40-man roster during Spring Training. Kansas City released him in May after he hit .202 across his first 33 Triple-A contests. Velázquez needed to settle for a job in the Mexican League but raked over 49 games there to play his way back to affiliated ball. He latched on with the Pirates on a minor league deal and played the final month with their top affiliate in Indianapolis.

The righty-hitting Velázquez carried over his strong form from Mexico in his second look at Triple-A pitching. He closed the season with a .284/.329/.554 line with five homers in 79 plate appearances. It wasn’t enough to get an MLB call from the Pirates, but he secured a non-roster invite from St. Louis.

Velázquez has split his major league work between the Cubs and Royals. He went on a power barrage in the second half of the ’23 season, slugging 14 homers over 40 games after the Royals acquired him from Chicago. That’s his only real run of big league success, as he struggled on either side of that scorching stretch. Velázquez has a .212/.286/.433 batting line in 615 plate appearances, essentially the equivalent of one full season. He has 31 homers in that time but the batting average and on-base marks haven’t been sufficient.

The Cardinals are amidst a rebuild that should open some playing time in the outfield. They already did so indirectly with the Willson Contreras trade, which is expected to bring Alec Burleson in from the outfield as the primary first baseman. St. Louis could move left fielder Lars Nootbaar, although they may prefer to wait until midseason to show his health after postseason heel surgeries. Jordan Walker is lined up for another look in right field in what looks like a make-or-break year for the former top prospect. There’s less opportunity available at designated hitter, where Iván Herrera will get the majority of the playing time when he’s not catching.

Velázquez has some similarities to Walker and current prospect Joshua Baez as right-handed power bats. The Cardinals certainly aren’t going to force him into the lineup over younger players who could be core pieces. He’s their only non-roster outfielder with MLB experience and seems likely to open the season at Triple-A Memphis.