The St. Louis Cardinals have officially seen one of their recent roster decisions lead to a change of scenery for their outfielder. After being designated for assignment by St. Louis, he is claimed off waivers by the Houston Astros.
The Cardinals had only recently removed him from their 40-man roster, and he will now continue his career with Houston after the Astros elected to take a chance on the right-handed hitter.
Several reports have indicated that the Houston Astros have claimed the 27-year-old off waivers from the Cardinals.
St. Louis designated him for assignment a few days ago to make room on the active roster. Pereira himself joined the Cardinals after being claimed off waivers following his designation for assignment by the Chicago White Sox.
MLBTR.com’s Darragh McDonald detailed Nelson Velazquez’s time on the Cardinals roster:
“In his time on the roster, Velázquez struck out at a 30.1% clip but also hit four home runs, leading to a .216/.289/.432 slash line. Velázquez is considered a poor defender, so he really needs to hit to provide value. His offense this year led to a 98 wRC+, indicating he was 2% below league average. That’s not disastrous in a vacuum but less than ideal for a bat-first guy. Since he’s out of options, he got nudged to the waiver wire.”
The Astros had to make a corresponding roster move to complete the claim, designating Shay Whitcomb for assignment.
Taking a Glance at Nelson Velázquez’s Career
Velazquez has now played parts of four MLB seasons, with the Chicago Cubs, Kansas City Royals, and Cardinals before landing with Houston.
His time in St. Louis consisted of 74 at-bats, during which he hit .216 with four home runs and four doubles.
Over 626 career at-bats, Velazquez owns a .212 batting average, 35 home runs, and 25 doubles. His career OPS+ sits at 98, which is close to league average but leaves some room for improvement.
The biggest question surrounding Velazquez has been his defense. As McDonald pointed out, his limitations in the outfield mean he needs to provide enough offensive production to make up for what he may give back defensively.
That was ultimately part of the reason the Cardinals made him available, but Houston saw enough in his right-handed bat and power potential to put in a waiver claim. The Astros had been looking for additional right-handed outfield help, giving Velazquez an opportunity to continue his MLB career with a new organization.