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LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - APRIL 25: Vince Velasquez #56 of the Chicago Cubs pitches in relief during the eighth inning during the game against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Dodger Stadium on April 25, 2026 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)
The Chicago Cubs are currently taking on the Cincinnati Reds in a four-game series. On Thursday, Chicago will be going for the four-game sweep.
Late Wednesday night, news surfaced that the Chicago Cubs are bringing back a familiar face on a minor league contract.
MLBTradeRumors.com’s Anthony Franco wrote (on May 6):
“The Cubs re-signed righty Vince Velasquez to a minor league contract, per the MiLB.com transaction log. The tracker also indicates that reliever Yacksel Ríos cleared outright waivers after being designated for assignment on Sunday.”
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GettyLOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – APRIL 25: Vince Velasquez #56 of the Chicago Cubs pitches in relief during the eighth inning during the game against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Dodger Stadium on April 25, 2026 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)
Velasquez, a 33-year-old right-handed pitcher, had originally signed an offseason minor league deal with the Chicago Cubs, but was DFA’d after his one appearance in MLB this season.
Franco also explained why the Cubs made the roster moves they did:
“The Cubs brought Velasquez up for a long relief spot. He pitched 2 1/3 scoreless frames in a blowout loss to the Dodgers. That was his first MLB appearance in three years. Velasquez threw 31 pitches and wasn’t going to be available the next day, so the Cubs designated him for assignment to bring up a fresh arm (Ríos, coincidentally).”
He last pitched with the Pittsburgh Pirates in 2023, but this new stint with the Cubs could feature Velasquez coming out of the bullpen again to eat up innings if needed.
GettyPHILADELPHIA, PA – JULY 24: Pitcher Vince Velasquez #21 of the Philadelphia Phillies delivers a pitch against the Atlanta Braves during the first inning of a game at Citizens Bank Park on July 24, 2021 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Rich Schultz/Getty Images)
Vince Velasquez has pitched in parts of 10 MLB seasons. He holds a career record of 38-51 with a lifetime ERA of 4.86 over 766 innings with 823 strikeouts.
He broke into MLB with the Houston Astros in 2015, but spent most of his career with the Philadelphia Phillies (five seasons), where he was a good middle-of-the-rotation starter. Velasquez has also pitched for the Chicago White Sox and San Diego Padres.
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GettyMichael Conforto #20 of the Chicago Cubs hits a double during the ninth inning against the Pittsburgh Pirates at Wrigley Field on April 12, 2026 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Geoff Stellfox/Getty Images)
The Chicago Cubs are enjoying a very good stretch of baseball right now. They have won six consecutive games and have yet to drop a game in the month of May.
Their 25-12 record is good for first place in the National League Central.
This current series against the Reds has allowed Chicago to create some separation in the standings. They are five games ahead of the Reds and will attempt to sweep Cincinnati on Thursday afternoon. Chicago holds a 3.5-game division lead in the NL Central.
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TJ French covers the MLB for Heavy. TJ is a graduate of the University of Georgia. He has 2+ years of writing experience. Follow TJ French on X: @tj_french5 More about TJ French
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