Héctor Velázquez Aguilar (born November 26, 1988) is a Mexican former professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("Pitch (baseball), pitches") the Baseball (ball), baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of out (baseball), retiring a batter (baseball), batter, ...

who currently serves as the

bullpen In baseball, the bullpen (or simply the pen) is the area where relief pitchers warm up before entering a game. A team's roster of relief pitchers is also metonymically referred to as "the bullpen". These pitchers usually wait in the bullpen if ...

coach for the Olmecas de Tabasco of the

Mexican League The Mexican Baseball League (, or LMB, ) is a professional baseball league in Mexico. It is the oldest running professional sports league in the country. The league has 20 teams organized in two divisions, North and South. Teams play 114 games ...

. He played in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

(MLB) for the

Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East Division. Founded in as one of the Ameri ...

. He threw and batted right-handed, and is listed at and .

Playing career

Piratas de Campeche

On March 16, 2010, Velázquez signed with the Piratas de Campeche of the

. He made his professional debut that year, pitching in 29 games for Campeche and logging a 6-4 record and 2.93 ERA, and was named the Rookie of the Year. In 2011, Velázquez pitched in 5 games for Campeche, striking out 20 in 21 innings of work. The following year, he pitched in 19 contests for the team, posting a 11-7 record and 4.40 ERA. In 2013, Velázquez pitched to a 3-5 record and 4.19 ERA with 91 strikeouts in innings pitched. For the 2014 season, Velázquez logged an 11-7 record and 4.10 ERA in 21 appearances. In 2015 with Campeche, he registered a 6-4 record and 4.44 ERA in 18 games.

Acereros de Monclova

On October 21, 2015, Velázquez was traded to the

Acereros de Monclova The Acereros de Monclova (English: Monclova Steelers) are a professional baseball team in the Mexican League The Mexican Baseball League (, or LMB, ) is a professional baseball league in Mexico. It is the oldest running professional sports l ...

alongside Adan Velazquez. For the 2016 season, Velázquez pitched in 22 games for Monclova, posting a 5-1 record and 2.47 ERA with 120 strikeouts in innings pitched. He was returned to Campeche following the conclusion of the season.

Boston Red Sox

On February 18, 2017, the

organization purchased Velázquez's contract from the Piratas. During the 2017 season, he appeared in 19 games for the Triple-A

Pawtucket Red Sox The Pawtucket Red Sox, known colloquially as the PawSox, were a professional minor league baseball club based in Pawtucket, Rhode Island. From 1973 to 2020, the team was a member of the International League and served as the Triple-A affiliate ...

, all as starting pitcher. He had an 8–4 record with 2.21 ERA and 1.000 WHIP in 102 innings pitched. The Red Sox promoted Velázquez to the major leagues for the first time on May 18, 2017. He made his MLB debut that day, taking the loss against the

Oakland Athletics The Oakland Athletics (frequently referred to as the Oakland A's) were an American Major League Baseball (MLB) team based in Oakland, California from 1968 to 2024. The Athletics were a member club of the American League (AL) American League We ...

after pitching five innings and giving up six runs on nine hits, while walking two and striking out four. He split time between Pawtucket and Boston through the end of the season. Overall, for the 2017 Boston Red Sox he appeared in eight games (three starts) and compiled a 3–1 record with 2.92 ERA, 1.135 WHIP, 19 strikeouts, and 7 walks in innings pitched. Velázquez won the final spot in the starting rotation of the 2018 Red Sox under rookie manager Alex Cora, exiting

spring training Spring training, also called spring camp, is the preseason of the Summer Professional Baseball Leagues, such as Major League Baseball (MLB), and it is a series of practices and exhibition games preceding the start of the regular season. Spri ...

on the 25-man roster. He made two starts in April (both wins) but otherwise served as a

relief pitcher In baseball and softball, a relief pitcher or reliever is a pitcher who pitches in the game after the starting pitcher or another relief pitcher has been removed from the game due to fatigue (medical), fatigue, injury, ineffectiveness, ejection ...

during April and May. On May 14, Velázquez was placed on the 10-day

disabled list In Major League Baseball (MLB), the injured list (IL) is a method for teams to remove their injured players from the roster in order to summon healthy players. Before the 2019 Major League Baseball season, 2019 season, it was known as the disabl ...

with a "low back strain." At the time, he had made ten appearances for the Red Sox (two starts) with a 5–0 record and 2.10 ERA in innings pitched. He was sent on a rehabilitation assignment with Triple-A Pawtucket on May 19, and returned to the active roster on May 24. Overall for the 2018 season, Velázquez made 47 appearances (eight starts), pitching 85 innings with a record of 7–2 with a 3.18 ERA. He was not included on Boston's postseason roster. Velázquez was included on Boston's

Opening Day Opening Day is the day on which professional baseball leagues begin their regular season. For Major League Baseball (MLB) and most of the American minor leagues, this day typically falls during the first week of April, although in recent year ...

roster to start the 2019 season. On May 30, he was placed on the 10-day

injured list In Major League Baseball (MLB), the injured list (IL) is a method for teams to remove their injured players from the roster in order to summon healthy players. Before the 2019 season, it was known as the disabled list (DL). General guidelines ...

with a low back strain. To that point in the season, Velázquez had a 1–3 record in 18 games (seven starts) with a 5.97 ERA. The team sent Velázquez on a rehabilitation assignment with the

Lowell Spinners The Lowell Spinners were a baseball team based in Lowell, Massachusetts. From 1996 to 2020, they were members of Minor League Baseball's New York–Penn League (NYPL) as the Class A Short Season affiliate of the Boston Red Sox. With Major Leagu ...

on June 15, and activated him on June 17. He returned to the injured list on June 19, again due to a low back sprain. He was activated from the injured list on June 29, optioned to Pawtucket on July 15, recalled to Boston on August 8, and returned to Pawtucket on August 11. Velázquez was recalled to Boston on September 1, when rosters expanded. Overall with the 2019 Red Sox, Velázquez appeared in 34 games (eight starts), compiling a 1–4 record with 5.43 ERA and 49 strikeouts in innings. On March 5, 2020, Velázquez was

designated for assignment Designated for assignment (DFA) is a contractual term used in Major League Baseball (MLB). A player who is designated for assignment is immediately removed from the team's 40-man roster, after which the team must, within seven days, return the pla ...

in order to make room for the newly-signed Collin McHugh on the 40-man roster.

Houston Astros

On March 8, 2020, the

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles (also known as the O's) are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East Division. As one of the America ...

claimed Velázquez off of waivers. He was outrighted off of the 40-man roster on July 24. On July 29, Velázquez was traded to the

Houston Astros The Houston Astros are an American professional baseball team based in Houston. The Astros compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, West Division. They are one of two major leag ...

in exchange for Miguel Padilla. He would not play in a game in 2020 due to the cancellation of the minor league season because of the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

. Velázquez was assigned to the Triple-A

Sugar Land Skeeters The Sugar Land Space Cowboys are a Minor League Baseball team of the Pacific Coast League (PCL) and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Houston Astros Major League Baseball club. They are located in Sugar Land, Texas, part of the G ...

to begin the 2021 season. After recording a 1.46 ERA in 14 games with Sugar Land, Velázquez was released by Houston on July 14, 2021.

Acereros de Monclova (second stint)

On July 14, 2021, Velázquez signed a contract to return to the

of the

, with whom he played for in 2016.

Leones de Yucatán

On April 19, 2023, Vélazquez's rights were acquired by the

Leones de Yucatán The Leones de Yucatán (English: Yucatán Lions) are a professional baseball team in the Mexican League. The team plays its home games at Parque Kukulcán Alamo in Mérida, Yucatán. The Leones have won the Mexican League title five times in 1957 ...

of the

. In 10 games (9 starts) for Yucatán, he recorded a 5.72 ERA with 21 strikeouts across innings pitched. Velázquez was released by the Leones on April 1, 2024.

El Águila de Veracruz

On April 9, 2024, Velázquez signed with

El Águila de Veracruz El Águila de Veracruz (English: The Eagle of Veracruz) is a professional baseball team that plays in the Mexican League. Based in Veracruz, Veracruz, Veracruz, Mexico, they play their home games at the Estadio Universitario Beto Ávila. Histor ...

of the

. In five appearances, he posted a 1–0 record with a 2.70 ERA and 3 strikeouts over innings. Velázquez was released on May 24.

Coaching career

On October 11, 2024, Velázquez was hired as the pitching coach for the Rieleros de Aguascalientes of the

. On June 17, 2025, Velázquez was hired to serve as the bullpen coach for the Olmecas de Tabasco of the

International career

Velázquez has played in the

Mexican Pacific League The Mexican Pacific League (, or LMP), also known as the Liga ARCO Mexicana del Pacífico for sponsorship reasons, is a professional baseball Winter league baseball, winter league based in Northwestern Mexico. The league comprises 10 teams. It wa ...

since 2010, and represented Mexico at the

2017 2017 was designated as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development by the United Nations General Assembly. Events January * January 1 – Istanbul nightclub shooting: A gunman dressed as Santa Claus opens fire at the ...

and

2021 Like the year 2020, 2021 was also heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, due to the emergence of multiple Variants of SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19 variants. The major global rollout of COVID-19 vaccines, which began at the end of 2020, continued ...

editions of the

Caribbean Series The Caribbean Series ( Spanish: ''Serie del Caribe'') is an annual club tournament contested by professional baseball teams in Latin America. It is organized by the Caribbean Professional Baseball Confederation. The series is normally played in ...

. On October 29, 2018, Velázquez was selected to play in the 2018 MLB Japan All-Star Series. Velázquez was on the

Mexico national baseball team The Mexico national baseball team (Spanish language, Spanish: ''Selección de béisbol de México'') is the baseball team that represents Mexico in international tournaments. It is currently the 2nd-ranked baseball team in the world. Current rost ...

roster for the

2020 Summer Olympics The officially the and officially branded as were an international multi-sport event that was held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some of the preliminary sporting events beginning on 21 July 2021. Tokyo ...

(contested in July 2021), but a positive

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...

result disqualified him.

Personal

Velázquez and his wife, Isa, have two sons together.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Velazquez, Hector 1988 births Living people Acereros de Monclova players Boston Red Sox players Major League Baseball players from Mexico 21st-century Mexican sportsmen Major League Baseball pitchers Mayos de Navojoa players Mexican expatriate baseball players in the United States Mexican League baseball pitchers Mexican League Rookie of the Year Award winners Pawtucket Red Sox players Baseball players from Ciudad Obregón Piratas de Campeche players Leones de Yucatán players El Águila de Veracruz players Sugar Land Skeeters players Yaquis de Obregón players