Nelson Javier Velázquez (born December 26, 1998) is a Puerto Rican 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 ...

outfielder An outfielder is a person playing in one of the three defensive positions in baseball or softball, farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder. As an outfielder, their duty is to catch ...

and

designated hitter The designated hitter (DH) is a baseball player who bats in place of another position player, most commonly the pitcher. Unlike other players in a team's lineup, they generally only play as an offensive player and usually do not play defense as ...

for the

Guerreros de Oaxaca The Guerreros de Oaxaca (English: Oaxaca Warriors) are a professional baseball team in the Mexican League based in Oaxaca City, Oaxaca, Mexico. Their home field is Estadio Eduardo Vasconcelos. History In October 1995, a group of businessmen, ...

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 has previously 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

Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central Division. Th ...

and

Kansas City Royals The Kansas City Royals are an American professional baseball team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Royals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. The team ...

Career

Chicago Cubs

The

drafted Velázquez in the fifth round, with the 165th overall selection, of the

2017 Major League Baseball draft The 2017 Major League Baseball draft began on June 12, 2017. The draft assigned amateur baseball players to MLB teams. The first 36 picks, including the first round and compensatory picks, were broadcast on MLB Network on June 12, while the remai ...

. He made his professional debut that year, playing with the rookie-level

Arizona League Cubs The Arizona Complex League Cubs are a Rookie-level affiliate of the Chicago Cubs, competing in the Arizona Complex League of Minor League Baseball. The team plays it home games at Sloan Park in Mesa, Arizona. The team is composed mainly of playe ...

. In 2018, Velázquez split time with the

Low-A Single-A, formerly known as Class A and sometimes as Low-A, is the fourth-highest level of play in Minor League Baseball in the United States, below Triple-A, Double-A, and High-A. There are 30 teams classified at the Single-A level, one for ...

Eugene Emeralds The Eugene Emeralds (nicknamed the Ems) are a Minor League Baseball team in the northwest United States, based in Eugene, Oregon. The Emeralds are members of the Northwest League and the High-A affiliate of the San Francisco Giants. Eugene plays ...

and

Single-A Single-A, formerly known as Class A and sometimes as Low-A, is the fourth-highest level of play in Minor League Baseball in the United States, below Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A, Double-A (baseball), Double-A, and High-A. There are 30 teams cl ...

South Bend Cubs The South Bend Cubs are a Minor League Baseball team of the Midwest League and the High-A affiliate of the Chicago Cubs. They are located in South Bend, Indiana, and play their home games at Four Winds Field at Coveleski Stadium. The team w ...

, batting .231 overall for the season; in 103 games, he had 11 home runs and 40 RBI. In 2019, he mainly played at the Single-A level, where he batted .286 with four home runs and 34 RBIs in 72 games. He then played in the

Puerto Rican Winter League Puerto, a Spanish word meaning ''seaport'', may refer to: Places *El Puerto de Santa María, Andalusia, Spain *Puerto, a seaport town in Cagayan de Oro, Philippines *Puerto Colombia, Colombia *Puerto Cumarebo, Venezuela *Puerto Galera, Oriental Mi ...

in the 2019–20 offseason. Velázquez did not play in a game in 2020 due to the cancellation of the minor league seasom 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 ...

. In 2021, he played 69 games for the

, a

High-A High-A, officially Class High-A, formerly known as Class A-Advanced, and sometimes abbreviated "A+" in writing, is the third-highest level of play in Minor League Baseball in the United States and Canada, below Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A and D ...

affiliate, and 34 games for the

Tennessee Smokies The Knoxville Smokies are a Minor League Baseball team based in Knoxville, Tennessee. The team, which plays in the Southern League, is the Double-A affiliate of the Chicago Cubs. The team was based in Kodak, Tennessee, a Knoxville suburb, fr ...

, a Double-A affiliate. Overall, Velázquez batted .270 with 20 home runs and 73 RBI in 103 game; he also stole 17 bases. After the regular season, he played for the

Mesa Solar Sox The Mesa Solar Sox are a baseball team that plays in the East Division of the Arizona Fall League. They play their home games in Mesa, Arizona, at Sloan Park, which is also the spring training facility of the Chicago Cubs. The team was establi ...

of the

Arizona Fall League The Arizona Fall League (AFL) is an off-season baseball league owned and operated by Major League Baseball (MLB) which operates during autumn in Arizona, United States, at six different baseball complexes. Arizona Fall League rosters are filled ...

where he batted .366 with nine home runs and 21 RBIs in 26 games. Velázquez was named MVP of the 2021

season, and was also added to the Cubs' 40-man roster following the 2021 season. Velázquez reached the Triple-A level in 2022 with the

Iowa Cubs The Iowa Cubs are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Chicago Cubs. They are located in Des Moines, Iowa, and are named for their Major League Baseball (MLB) affiliate. T ...

, and was added to Chicago's active roster prior to a doubleheader on May 30. He made his major-league debut the same day, collecting a hit in his first MLB at bat. On July 4, Velázquez hit his first career home run off of Eric Lauer of the

Milwaukee Brewers The Milwaukee Brewers are an American professional baseball team based in Milwaukee. The Brewers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central Di ...

. He played in 77 games for the Cubs in his rookie campaign, hitting .205/.286/.373 with 6 home runs, 26 RBI, and 5 stolen bases. Velázquez was optioned to Triple-A Iowa to begin the 2023 season. He was recalled back to the Majors, on April 10. The following day, he hit his first career

grand slam Grand Slam or Grand slam may refer to: Games and sports * Grand slam, winning category terminology originating in contract bridge and other whist card games Athletics * Grand Slam Track, professional track and field league Auto racing * ...

, to give the Cubs an 8-7 lead against the

Seattle Mariners The Seattle Mariners are an American professional baseball team based in Seattle. The Mariners compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, West Division. The team joined the American ...

, after they were previously down 7-0. Velazquez was optioned back to Triple-A Iowa on May 8.

Kansas City Royals

On July 31, 2023, the Cubs traded Velázquez to the

in exchange for José Cuas. Velázquez was assigned to the Triple-A

Omaha Storm Chasers The Omaha Storm Chasers are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Kansas City Royals. They are located in Papillion, Nebraska, a suburb southwest of Omaha, Nebraska, Omah ...

to begin his tenure with the club. On August 10, Velázquez was called up to make his Royals debut, hitting a home run in his first plate appearance the next day. Velázquez hit a home run the following day in his second career game for Kansas City, making him 3-for-8 with two home runs and three RBI in his first two games with the team. In 40 games for the Royals, he batted .233/.299/.579 with 14 home runs and 28 RBI. Velázquez made 64 appearances for Kansas City during the 2024 campaign, slashing .200/.274/.366 with eight home runs, 27 RBI, and two stolen bases. On March 23, 2025, Velázquez was removed from the 40-man roster and sent outright to Triple-A Omaha. In 33 appearances for the Storm Chasers, he slashed .202/.298/.377 with six home runs, 14 RBI, and four stolen bases. Velázquez was released by the Royals organization on May 28.

Guerreros de Oaxaca

On June 4, 2025, Velázquez signed with the

of the

International career

Velázquez was named to the All-Tournament team for the

2024 Caribbean Series The 2024 Caribbean Series was the 66th edition of the Caribbean Series club baseball tournament, played from February 1 to February 9, 2024, at LoanDepot Park in Miami, Florida, United States. This was the first time since the 1991 series that t ...

while playing

winter league baseball Winter league baseball is baseball contested in sports leagues during what is generally considered the baseball off-season. Background Annually, the highest level of professional baseball competition, Major League Baseball (MLB), begins with spri ...

for the Criollos de Caguas of the

Puerto Rican Professional Baseball League Puerto, a Spanish word meaning ''seaport'', may refer to: Places *El Puerto de Santa María, Andalusia, Spain *Puerto, a seaport town in Cagayan de Oro, Philippines *Puerto Colombia, Colombia *Puerto Cumarebo, Venezuela *Puerto Galera, Oriental Mi ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Velázquez, Nelson 1998 births Living people Arizona League Cubs players Chicago Cubs players Criollos de Caguas players Eugene Emeralds players Iowa Cubs players Kansas City Royals players Major League Baseball outfielders Major League Baseball players from Puerto Rico 21st-century Puerto Rican sportsmen Mesa Solar Sox players Omaha Storm Chasers players South Bend Cubs players Sportspeople from Carolina, Puerto Rico Tennessee Smokies players 2023 World Baseball Classic players