Vince Velasquez Elects Free Agency
Righty Vince Velasquez elected free agency after being outrighted by the Cubs on Tuesday, according to the MiLB.com transaction tracker. Infielder Scott Kingery was also outrighted and had the right to test the market, but he evidently accepted the assignment. He’s in the lineup tonight with Triple-A Iowa.
Velasquez 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 last week. 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. He went unclaimed on waivers.
There’s a decent chance Velasquez returns to the Cubs on a new minor league deal. That’s the most common outcome in these situations, but the 33-year-old could explore opportunities elsewhere if he sees a better path back to the highest level with a different organization.
Cubs Outright Scott Kingery, Vince Velasquez
The Cubs have sent infielder/outfielder Scott Kingery and right-hander Vince Velasquez outright to Triple-A Iowa, according to each player’s transactions tracker at MLB.com. That indicates they cleared waivers after being designated for assignment last week. Both players have the right to elect free agency but the log doesn’t indicate whether they will or not.
Kingery, who turns 32 tomorrow, signed a minor league deal with the Cubs in the offseason and cracked the Opening Day roster. He gave them some versatile depth off the bench but manager Craig Counsell didn’t use him much. Kingery was on the roster for a month and put into eight games, mostly as a pinch runner, only getting four plate appearances. It seems Counsell and the Cubs preferred Nicky Lopez in that bench role, as they traded for Lopez last week and added him to the roster, with Kingery bumped off as the corresponding move.
In his big league career, Kingery has been a light-hitting utility guy. In 1,160 plate appearances, he has produced a .227/.278/.381 batting line. He has lined up at every position on the diamond except for first base and catcher.
Players have the right to reject outright assignments in favor of free agency if they have either a previous career outright or at least three years of service time. Kingery qualifies on both accounts. He would surely be limited to minor league offers as a free agent, since every club just declined to claim him off waivers. He could stick with the Cubs as non-roster depth who could be called up in the event of a future injury, though he could also look for a comparable role elsewhere.
Velasquez was called up for one relief appearance last week. He tossed 2 1/3 scoreless frames in his first MLB action since 2023. The Cubs designated him for assignment a day later to swap in another fresh arm. Velasquez, who signed an offseason minor league contract, has a 3.71 ERA across four appearances (three starts) with Iowa.
Photo courtesy of Mark J. Rebilas, Imagn Images
Cubs Select Nicky Lopez, Vince Velasquez
7:32 PM: Taylor McGregor further reports some additional moves for the Cubs: right-hander Vince Velasquez has been selected, and Caleb Thielbar was placed on the 15-day IL with a left hamstring strain. Additionally, Scott Kingery was designated for assignment to open an additional spot on the 40-man roster.
6:28 PM: The Chicago Cubs have made a 40-man roster move in advance of tonight’s clash against the Dodgers, adding infielder Nicky Lopez and transferring Porter Hodge to the 60-day IL, per Taylor McGregor of Marquee Sports Network. Per the official player page, Scott Kingery has also been optioned to Triple-A Iowa.
Lopez, acquired yesterday from the Rockies, did not have to wait long for his reunion with the Cubs. Lopez made 14 appearances with the Northsiders last season (interesting enough, his first appearance came almost a year ago to the day). Now entering his seventh MLB season, Lopez has made a name for himself with solid glovework at multiple infield positions. The bulk of his work has come at 2B (2561 1/3 innings) and SS (2351 1/3 innings), though defensive metrics like DRS (-9) and FRV (-1) have soured on his glove at short to varying degrees in his last three seasons of work. Both metrics, however, look favorably on his work at the keystone (3 DRS/6 FRV) and the hot corner (5 DRS/4 FRV) since 2023.
The versatility will help manager Craig Counsell give the starters a day off and a lefty bat to play with in the lineup or off the bench. To be certain, Lopez doesn’t break the mold of a traditional, light-hitting utilityman. His career 73 wRC+ (100 is average) indicates he’s below-average at the plate, but to his credit, Lopez controls the zone relatively well with a low strikeout rate (14.3%). He hits for little power, and the speed he showcased in his Royals heyday (35/39 SB from 2021-2022) now clocks in closer to league average. Still, Lopez clearly made a good enough impression on the clubhouse and management last season to warrant a second bite of the apple.
Lopez will functionally be replacing Kingery on Counsell’s bench. Kingery has bounced around the league since his five-year run with the Phillies ended in 2022. Like Lopez, Kingery doesn’t offer much with the bat: the latter’s 72 wRC+ is nearly identical to that of his successor. But while Lopez offers some defensive upside, Kingery’s versatility is less notable. His glovework at second and third is more pedestrian (Kingery, to his credit, has graded better on the defensive metrics at short in a very small sample size).
Since Kingery has more than three years of service time and has been previously placed on outright waivers, he will have the option to decline the placement and opt for free agency if he goes unclaimed. However, doing so would forfeit his MLB salary ($1.25 MM), and given his recent MLB performance, he’s unlikely to match that by re-signing with another club. For the Cubs, there is a possible risk that another team claims Kingery, but given his salary commitment and performance, this largely amounts to a non-issue. Most likely, he’ll continue to ply his trade at Triple-A while awaiting another opportunity with the big league club.
Velasquez will be making a return to the MLB mound for the first time since a short (yet effective) stint with Pittsburgh in 2023. More recently, he pitched with the KBO Lotte Giants to poor results, with an 8.23 ERA in 35 innings. While there’s an element of misfortune there (ERA predictor xFIP gauged him closer to a 5-ERA performance), it probably wasn’t the results Velasquez was hoping for on his foray into Korea.
Regardless, the Cubs saw enough to sign him to a minor league deal before Spring Training. Most likely, Velasquez’s role will be to soak up some innings as the long reliever in the bullpen when the score goes sideways. It remains to be seen how effective he’ll be in his role, given his MLB layoff, but at the very least, he’s a once-proven MLB arm with ample experience.
Thielbar’s IL placement could strain the Chicago bullpen, given his excellent work last year. At the tender age of 38, Thielbar turned in arguably the best season of his career: a 2.64 ERA in 58 IP with 25 holds. While SIERA found him a little lucky based on his peripherals and batted balls, his 3.24 mark would still be a fine number for a back-end bullpen arm. The Cubs’ bullpen has done relatively well in the early going, with a top-10 ERA (SIERA sees them as more middle-of-the-pack), but losing a quality, high-leverage lefty alongside closer Daniel Palencia will be tough to navigate.
In the interim, the Cubs will have a few options at their disposal to close out games. Righty Ben Brown, operating exclusively in relief, has been excellent in 19 innings. He only has one hold and a blown save in high-leverage innings this year, but his performance makes him a clear standout for the later innings. Lefty Hoby Milner could also be an option: while he lacks the velocity of Brown, he has a longer track record of success, helping to bridge to the closer with 18 holds in 2025.
To make room on the 40-man, Hodge was moved to the 60-day IL following UCL surgery. Given that Hodge won’t make any further appearances in 2026, this move is largely a formality.
Cubs Place Justin Steele On 60-Day IL, Designate Jack Neely For Assignment
The Cubs announced that left-hander Justin Steele has been placed on the 60-day injured list and right-hander Jack Neely has been designated for assignment. Those moves open two 40-man spots for outfielder Michael Conforto and infielder/outfielder Scott Kingery. It had been reported in recent days that Conforto would make the team, with Kingery likely being added as well.
Steele is working back from last April’s UCL surgery. He has advanced to facing hitters in live batting practice sessions, according to the MLB.com injury tracker. The Cubs apparently don’t feel he’ll be ready for major league action within the first two months of the season, though. Steele could go on a minor league rehab assignment towards the end of April with an eye to making his season debut in late May.
Neely, a 25-year-old reliever, made six appearances late in the 2024 season. He gave up six runs in as many innings. A former 11th-round pick of the Yankees, he was traded to the Cubs just before his MLB debut as part of the return for Mark Leiter Jr. Neely spent all of last season in the minors, struggling to a 6.23 ERA across 30 1/3 innings.
The righty has a sinker-slider combination that misses bats but which he struggles to command. Neely struck out 28% of opponents while issuing walks at an untenable 19% rate in Triple-A last season. He’s likely to wind up on waivers this week. Neely has one minor league option year remaining and wouldn’t need to be on the MLB roster if another team takes a flier on the stuff.
Conforto and Kingery secure the final two position player jobs, beating out fellow non-roster invitee Chas McCormick in that role. Matt Shaw and backup catcher Miguel Amaya fill out Craig Counsell’s four-man bench.
Cubs Select Dylan Carlson
9:23pm: Chicago has selected Carlson’s contract and placed Austin on the 60-day injured list to open a 40-man roster spot, according to the MLB.com transaction log.
12:45pm: The Cubs are going to select outfielder Dylan Carlson to their roster before Opening Day, reports Jordan Bastian of MLB.com. Carlson will unlock the $2MM salary on his deal by getting the call. Bastian adds that infielder/outfielder Scott Kingery is travelling with the team and will likely get a spot as well, though the club is still monitoring external possibilities for the final spot on their bench. The Cubs also plan to select outfielder Michael Conforto, meaning they will need to open at least two 40-man spots and potentially a third. Outfielder Kevin Alcántara has been optioned and will start the season at Triple-A Iowa.
A few spring injuries have opened up some playing time for the Cubs. They began camp projected for three bench spots to go to Tyler Austin, Miguel Amaya and Matt Shaw, with an opening for an outfielder. Austin required knee surgery and is going to be on the injured list for months. Seiya Suzuki has a knee sprain and will also start the season on the IL. Those injuries have opened enough space for Conforto, Carlson and perhaps even Kingery to crack the roster.
Carlson, 27, was once one of the top prospects in the league for the Cardinals. A few years ago, he seemed to be cementing himself as a key piece of the St. Louis outfield but his results have tapered off in recent seasons. He has a combined .210/.294/.314 batting line since the start of 2023. His once-strong defensive grades have also slipped recently. He bounced to the Rays and Orioles, with Baltimore cutting him loose at the end of last year.
After those struggles, he had to settle for a minor league deal with the Cubs coming into 2026. He has had a good camp, putting up a .304/.429/.413 line. That got a lot of help from a .433 batting average on balls in play and he also posted a concerning 26.8% strikeout rate, but on the positive side, he drew a walk in 14.3% of his plate appearances.
Carlson is a switch hitter and may be used in a short-side platoon role. He has a .274/.347/.410 line against lefties in his career, compared to a .217/.298/.356 performance against righties. Conforto is a lefty bat with better career numbers against righties. Between the two, perhaps they can form a decent cover for Suzuki’s absence. When Suzuki is back, they both may lose playing time, but Carlson could still spell lefties like Michael Busch, Moisés Ballesteros and Pete Crow-Armstrong on occasion.
Kingery, 32 in April, was also in camp on a minor league deal. He has never hit much in the majors, with a career .227/.278/.382 line. He didn’t show much better during spring action, slashing .208/.345/.333. But he provides a lot of defensive versatility. He has experience at every position on the diamond except first base and catcher. He is also optionable and could be sent down the minors once Suzuki is healthy.
It should be known in about 24 hours if he gets a spot or not. Though only two teams are playing tomorrow, all teams have to submit their Opening Day rosters. There tends to be a lot of roster shuffling ahead of Opening Day as players opt out of contracts and others get squeezed off roster spots. Perhaps the Cubs will find someone they like better than Kingery to plug in. They don’t strictly need his versatility since Shaw is expected to play a multi-positional role off the bench, so perhaps they can find someone with a bit more offensive punch.
Alcántara is one of the club’s top prospects but there are concerns about his hit tool. He has been punched out in almost 30% of his plate appearances. Just now in camp, he struck out at a 32.6% pace. With the Suzuki injury, the Cubs could have given him some run in the big leagues but sending him for some more seasoning in Triple-A is also defensible.
Ideally, he’ll find some improvement in his bat to ball skills this year. He is slated to be out of options next year. The Cubs are slated to have Suzuki, Carlson, Conforto and Ian Happ all reach free agency after this season, leaving them with just Crow-Armstrong in their 2027 outfield. It would be great if Alcántara could step up and fill one of those openings but he’ll likely need to make more contact for that to be viable.
Photo courtesy of Rick Scuteri, Imagn Images
Cubs Sign Scott Kingery To Minor League Deal
The Cubs signed utility player Scott Kingery to a minor league contract, the team informed reporters (including Maddie Lee of The Chicago Sun-Times). He’ll be in MLB camp as a non-roster invitee.
Kingery returned to the majors this past season, getting into 19 games with the Angels. It marked his first MLB action in three years. His 29 MLB plate appearances were the most he logged in a season dating back to 2020. The former top Phillies prospect recored four hits with two walks and 11 strikeouts. He has a lifetime .227/.278/.382 batting line in nearly 1200 career plate appearances, almost all of which came in Philadelphia from 2018-19.
Now 31, Kingery spent most of this year at Triple-A Salt Lake. He batted .228/.284/.402 while striking out in a quarter of his trips to the plate. It was a step back from his more impressive ’24 season with the Phillies’ top affiliate, when Kingery had a 25-25 season in the minors.
The Cubs won’t expect much offensively from the right-handed hitter. Kingery provides defensive versatility and plays anywhere on the diamond aside from first base and catcher. He’s an above-average runner who’ll compete for a spot on Craig Counsell’s bench during Spring Training.
22 Players Elect Free Agency
Now that the season is over, we’ll start seeing several players choose to become minor league free agents. Major League free agents (i.e. players with six-plus years of big league service time) will hit the open market five days after the end of the World Series, but eligible minor leaguers can already start electing free agency.
To qualify, these players must have been all outrighted off their team’s 40-man rosters during the 2025 season without being added back. These players also must have multiple career outrights on their resume, and/or at least three years of Major League service time.
We’ll offer periodic updates over the coming weeks about many other players hitting the market in this fashion. These free agent decisions are all listed on the official MLB.com or MILB.com transactions pages, for further reference.
Catchers
- Matt Thaiss (Rays)
Infielders
- Sergio Alcantara (Diamondbacks)
- Keston Hiura (Rockies)
- Vimael Machin (Orioles)
Outfielders
- Jordyn Adams (Orioles)
- Connor Joe (Reds)
- Jose Siri (Mets)
Utility Players
- Scott Kingery (Angels)
- Terrin Vavra (Orioles)
Pitchers
- Scott Blewett (Orioles)
- Noah Davis (Twins)
- Kevin Herget (Mets)
- Nick Hernandez (Astros)
- Brooks Kriske (Twins)
- Richard Lovelady (Mets)
- Corbin Martin (Orioles)
- Darren McCaughan (Twins)
- Triston McKenzie (Guardians)
- Cionel Perez (Orioles)
- Jose Ruiz (Rangers)
- Jordan Weems (Astros)
- Bryse Wilson (White Sox)
Angels Outright Chad Wallach
September 17: Wallach cleared waivers and has been outrighted back to Salt Lake, the Angels announced this afternoon.
September 15: The Angels announced a few roster moves during tonight’s off day. Logan O’Hoppe is back from the seven-day concussion list, leaving the club to designate catcher Chad Wallach for assignment. Los Angeles also announced that infielders Scott Kingery and Niko Kavadas cleared waivers and were outrighted to Triple-A. MLBTR covered the Kavadas outright this morning.
O’Hoppe went down a week ago when he was struck on the head by a Jacob Wilson backswing. The Halos called up Sebastian Rivero to back up Travis d’Arnaud, who stepped into the starting catching role. A few days later, d’Arnaud landed on the injured list with his own concussion symptoms. The Angels were forced to call up Wallach, the #4 backstop on the organizational depth chart. Rivero started all three games behind the dish in the weekend series in Seattle.
Wallach made one appearance as a defensive replacement. He caught the final two innings on Friday after Jo Adell pinch hit for Rivero in the top of the seventh. That was the 33-year-old’s first major league action since 2023. Wallach spent all of last year with the Halos’ Triple-A team in Salt Lake. He divided this season between the top affiliates of the Rangers and Angels, hitting .251/.321/.439 across 251 plate appearances.
The Angels will place Wallach on waivers this week. There’s a good chance he goes unclaimed and accepts a minor league assignment to spend the final two weeks of the regular season in Salt Lake. He’ll qualify for minor league free agency at year’s end if he’s not on a 40-man roster.
Kingery was designated for assignment on Saturday when the Angels called up Denzer Guzman. The former Phillies second baseman has cleared waivers three times this season. He hit .148 in 19 games during his first big league action in three years. He’ll also be a minor league free agent at year’s end unless the Angels call him back up before then.
Angels Designate Scott Kingery For Assignment, Promote Denzer Guzman
The Angels announced this afternoon that they’ve selected the contract of infielder Denzer Guzman from Triple-A. Utility infielder Scott Kingery was designated for assignment to make room for Guzman on the 40-man and active rosters. In addition, Anaheim announced that they’ve optioned outfielder Matthew Lugo to Triple-A and recalled infielder Christian Moore.
Guzman, 21, was signed by the Angels as an amateur out of the Dominican Republic and made his professional debut during the 2021 season. After hitting his way out of rookie ball in late 2022, Guzman began to climb the minor league ladder but generally didn’t show much promise with the bat. That was, at least, until this year, when Guzman enjoyed a breakout at the Double- and Triple-A levels. He’s slashed .247/.343/.426 in 129 games between those two levels this year, with 30 doubles, 17 homers, and a 14-17 record on the bases. Some of that breakout seems to have been fueled by the inflated offensive environment found in the Pacific Coast League, but given Guzman’s youth it’s still impressive that he’s been able to hold his own offensively in the upper minors.
The overwhelming majority of Guzman’s work over the years has come at shortstop, though he does have a small amount of experience at third base as well. In the short term, Guzman figures to fill in for Zach Neto at short while the latter player nurses a day-to-day injury. Looking into the future, however, Neto’s presence leaves a long-term roadblock to Guzman getting much time at the position in the majors. Perhaps other spots around the infield could become available as soon as next year with Luis Rengifo and Yoan Moncada ticketed for free agency this winter, and if that comes to pass then a strong first impression for Guzman could get him into the conversation for a larger role in the majors in 2026.
To make room for Guzman on the roster, the Angels are cutting ties with Kingery. The 31-year-old journeyman got his first MLB work since 2022 in with Anaheim this year after signing an MLB deal, though he only ended up appearing in 19 games as he slashed a brutal .148/.207/.185 with a 37.9% strikeout rate in 29 trips to the plate. A former top prospect who signed an ill-fated extension with the Phillies to begin his career, Kingery seemed to take a step forward and become an average regular in 2019 but hit just .144/.205/.250 across 52 MLB games from 2020 to 2022. Assuming he goes unclaimed on waivers, Kingery will have the option either elect free agency or stick with the Angels organization in the minors for the remainder of the year.
As for Moore, the rookie returns to the majors without having even used a minor league option, since his assignment lasted less than 20 days. The eighth overall pick of last year’s draft debuted back in June and hit .195/.287/.336 in 39 games for the Angels this year between trips to the injured list and Triple-A. As for Lugo, the 24-year-old made his MLB debut this year but has hit just .232/.243/.464 in 70 appearances, with his excellent slugging numbers boosted by six extra-base hits in his first eight games as a big leaguer.
Angels Select Scott Kingery, Mitch Farris, Option Christian Moore
The Angels announced that they have selected the contracts of infielder Scott Kingery and left-hander Mitch Farris with rosters expanding from 26 to 28 today. Additionally, infielder/outfielder Chris Taylor has been reinstated from the 10-day injured list and infielder Christian Moore has been optioned to Triple-A Salt Lake. To open 40-man spots for Kingery and Farris, outfielder Gustavo Campero and right-hander Carson Fulmer have been transferred to the 60-day IL.
Kingery, 31, has bounced on and off the roster this year. That seems to be by design. He agreed to a $770K salary to avoid arbitration. His service time count is between three and five years, meaning he can reject outright assignments but has to forfeit his remaining salary commitments in order to exercise that right. That’s effectively given the Angels an extra infielder, as Kingery has twice been outrighted to Triple-A, then has been selected back to the roster whenever they need a fresh body.
Around the transactions, he has stepped to the plate 27 times at the big league level but with a .160/.222/.200 line. His Triple-A work has been better but still subpar. His .229/.288/.400 line down there translates to a wRC+ of 62. While he may not provide much with the bat, he does give the Angels defensive versatility, as he has experience at every position except catcher and first base.
Farris, 24, gets to the big leagues for the first time. A 14th-round pick of Atlanta in 2023, he was flipped to the Angels in December for Davis Daniel. He has spent this year in the Double-A rotation, having thrown 116 innings with a 4.27 earned run average, 28% strikeout rate, 10.8% walk rate and 44.5% ground ball rate.
The Angels recently optioned Jack Kochanowicz and then lost Tyler Anderson to the injured list due to an oblique strain. That has dropped their rotation to Yusei Kikuchi, José Soriano and Kyle Hendricks. They don’t have starters listed for Tuesday or Wednesday. It’s possible that Farris could soak up some innings, alongside someone like José Ureña, who was signed yesterday.
Moore was just drafted last year. The Angels, as is their wont, aggressively promoted him to the majors. He was up in the show in June of 2025, less than a year after being drafted. However, his first taste of the major leagues hasn’t gone as hoped. He has slashed .195/.287/.336 in his first 130 plate appearances while striking out at a 31.5% clip.
It’s not uncommon for a prospect to struggle when first called up, especially in an extreme situation such as this. Moore could still be a very important part of the club’s future but he’ll try to get back on track in the minors for now.
Campero was carted off the field with an obvious injury a couple of weeks ago and was later diagnosed with a high ankle sprain. Today’s transfer indicates the Halos don’t expect him back this season. Fulmer landed on the 15-day IL a week ago due to inflammation in his throwing elbow. His exact status isn’t clear but he’s also done for the year, based on this move.
Photo courtesy of David Richard, Imagn Images