Guardians hope to repeat previous success with recent free agent signing

The Cleveland Guardians continue to add to their pitching depth ahead of pitchers and catchers reporting in Arizona. The most recent addition to the Guardians' pitching staff is 32-year-old right-hander Vince Velaquez, agreeing to a minor league contract with an invite to spring training.

Velazquez last pitched for the Pittsburgh Pirates in 2023, finishing the season with a 3.86 ERA, 1.313 WHIP, and 8.9 strikeouts per nine innings pitched in eight games. This was the lowest ERA and third-lowest WHIP for Velazquez in a season. Granted, it was a very small sample size, but it is notable considering his ERA was 2.5 runs higher two years prior to this, while his WHIP was slightly better than his career average (1.372).

Unfortunately, Velazquez's season ended prematurely, as he would undergo season-ending surgery on a torn ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow and would go on to miss all of 2024 as a result. This was the second time in his career that Velazquez would have surgery on his throwing elbow, having undergone Tommy John back in 2010.

Even though there is some concern with Velazquez, considering he has not pitched in a major league game in almost two years, the Guardians do have some recent experience in this department. Cleveland took a chance on Matthew Boyd last season, and it paid off as he finished with a 2.72 ERA, 1.134 WHIP, and 10.4 strikeouts per nine innings in eight starts late in the season. If the Guardians are able to get something similar to this or close to what Velazquez was able to provide the Pirates in 2023, it would be highly beneficial.

The Guardians are clearly aware that the state of their pitching staff is not great at the moment and taking any reasonable avenue to improve it before the season. Cleveland knows that at least an arm or two is not going to perform at an acceptable level, and they will need someone to take their place when/if that happens. Velazquez has plenty of major league experience under his belt, and that could prove useful if he ends up pitching for the Guardians this season.