Royals Quietly Release 3-Year MLB Veteran After Disappointing Start

There was a time when it looked like the Kansas City Royals might have found a steal in Nelson Velázquez.

In 40 games after he came over in a 2023 midseason trade with the Chicago Cubs, Velázquez clubbed 14 home runs. He had just a .299 on-base percentage in that stretch, but the power was so impressive that he won the starting designated hitter job to begin 2024.

Unfortunately, it's only gone downhill since. And as of Wednesday, it looks as though Velázquez' opportunities in a Royals uniform have officially dried up.

According to the official MLB.com transaction log, Velázquez was released by the Triple-A Omaha Storm Chasers on Wednesday. He was not on the 40-man roster, having been outrighted to Omaha to start the season after clearing waivers at the end of spring training.

In 33 games with Omaha this season, Velázquez slashed .202/.298/.377 with six home runs. He never factored in as an option in Kansas City's depleted outfield, which makes sense considering he racked up -7 career outs above average in just over 800 major league defensive innings.

The 26-year-old Velázquez has three partial seasons and 194 games of major league experience, having debuted with the Cubs in 2022. He hit 31 home runs in those games, so some club may still be willing to take a chance on him because of the power potential he displayed.

But the Royals have too many question marks in their current lineup to give out minor league at-bats to someone who doesn't factor into their future plans.

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