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.
Velasquez elected free agency last week following his own DFA. The 33-year-old had signed an offseason minor league deal with Chicago. He started three of four appearances with Iowa, allowing eight runs (seven earned) through 17 innings. He struck out 19 opponents while issuing nine walks and hitting a batter.
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).
Ríos spent a week on Chicago’s active roster. He only got into one game, retiring all five batters faced with a pair of strikeouts against L.A. on April 26. That was also his first MLB outing since 2023. Ríos averaged 98.5 mph with his heater in that lone appearance. He’d posted more middling numbers with Iowa before he got called up, allowing six earned runs with an 8:6 strikeout-to-walk ratio through 10 2/3 frames.
The 32-year-old righty has a previous career outright on his résumé, meaning he can elect free agency. There’s a decent chance he’d follow the Velasquez path and return to the Cubs on a minor league deal even if he opts to test the market.
