Vince Velasquez is out. After being outrighted for the second time this season, he chose free agency rather than stick around for more uncertainty. The Cubs cut him loose on Sunday, ran him through waivers, and he didn’t look back.
Here’s the reality: Chicago’s bullpen is a mess, and yet they keep shuffling out a veteran who’s done everything asked of him. Velasquez’s time in a Cubs uniform barely registered. Twice he got the call to the big league roster, and both times he delivered: 3 1/3 scoreless innings in long relief, no drama, no meltdowns, just outs.
Chicago still decided that wasn’t enough. Back to Triple-A Iowa he went, stuck in the endless “swingman” cycle. His numbers there? Ugly on the surface: a 6.15 ERA over 33 2/3 innings. But dig deeper and you’ll see he’s striking out 26% of batters, a legitimate whiff rate for a reliever nobody’s mentioning. The real issue is the walks, 16.2% of hitters reach via free pass, and that’s the stat that gets a pitcher sent packing.
Yet, in a league where teams are desperate for reliable arms and the Cubs’ bullpen is anything but stable, this feels like classic front-office waffling. Velasquez has been here before. The last time Chicago outrighted him, he re-signed on a minor league deal almost immediately. Maybe he’ll do it again. Still, the fact he’s even available says plenty about where the Cubs are headed.
Chicago’s constant bullpen shuffle isn’t fixing anything. Relievers with worse outings keep their jobs, while Velasquez gets the revolving door. Fans aren’t holding back. One commenter put it bluntly: he’s “better than Phil Maton, or Hunter Harvey who is literally stealing money right now drinking beers at home.” That’s not just venting, it’s a direct shot at how teams across the league handle their bullpens.
This isn’t just about Velasquez. It’s about the illusion of depth and the cold calculus teams use when weighing experience against upside. Velasquez hadn’t pitched in the majors for three seasons before this year. That should have been reason enough for the Cubs to see what they had, not treat him as disposable roster filler.
Meanwhile, other teams are circling. The Angels have already come up as a possible destination, with fans urging them to “take a waiver.” Makes sense. Teams desperate for innings and a steady hand don’t have many options, and Velasquez brings both, if you can stomach the walks.
Chicago, meanwhile, looks paralyzed by indecision. Fantasy baseball logic has seeped into real-life roster moves, and the Cubs’ bullpen carousel is a case study in how over-managing can backfire. For a deeper dive into how these trends are shaping MLB roster decisions in the age of granular betting and analytics, the parallels are obvious.
Some will point to Velasquez’s Triple-A numbers as justification. But let’s not pretend the Cubs are overflowing with talent. Teams have kept far worse arms around, and Chicago’s willingness to let a proven big-league reliever walk, twice, feels less like a plan and more like a shrug.
For Velasquez, this is nothing new. He’s been outrighted, hit free agency, and come back before. Odds are he’ll land another minor league deal somewhere, maybe even back with Chicago if they pick up the phone. But don’t be shocked if a contender in need of pitching depth grabs him before the Cubs can change their minds.
