The Arizona Diamondbacks have added veteran infielder Andrew Velazquez on a minor league contract, a move confirmed through an announcement made by their Triple-A affiliate. Velazquez, who is 31 years old, is represented by the agency CAA Sports, and he now joins Arizona’s organizational depth chart as a versatile defensive option who will begin his stint at the minor league level.
This signing comes after a brief and ultimately unsuccessful stint with the Texas Rangers during spring training. Velazquez had joined the Rangers earlier in December on a non-roster invitation, giving him a chance to compete for a reserve role on their major league roster during camp. Over the course of spring training, he appeared in 16 games, but his offensive production fell well short of expectations.
In 32 plate appearances, he managed only a .111 batting average, along with a .194 on-base percentage and a .185 slugging percentage. Those numbers reflected a lack of consistent contact and minimal offensive impact, which ultimately hurt his chances of breaking camp with the team.
As spring training concluded and roster decisions were finalized at the end of March, the Rangers opted to release Velazquez. Once he became a free agent, he remained unsigned for a period of time as teams evaluated their depth needs heading into the early part of the regular season. Eventually, the Diamondbacks decided to bring him into their system on a minor league deal, providing him with another opportunity to continue his professional career and potentially work his way back to the major leagues.
Velazquez has not appeared in a Major League Baseball game since the 2023 season when he was with the Los Angeles Angels. Since that time, he has spent the past two seasons at the Triple-A level, playing in different organizations, including stints within the Atlanta Braves and New York Yankees systems. These assignments have kept him active in professional baseball, but he has not been able to secure a return to the big league level despite his experience and defensive versatility.
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Looking specifically at his most recent season in 2025, Velazquez played for the Yankees’ Triple-A affiliate and accumulated 368 plate appearances. During that time, he posted a batting line of .242/.304/.345. When adjusted for league context, this translated to a 74 wRC+, indicating that he performed well below the average Triple-A hitter.
His offensive contributions were limited, as he did not provide much in terms of power or on-base consistency. While he was able to put together occasional productive stretches, his overall numbers reflected the same general pattern that has followed him in recent years: light offensive output paired with modest production.
This level of performance has become fairly typical for Velazquez. The last time he posted a clearly above-average offensive season at any significant sample size came in 2021, when he was still in Triple-A and produced a 119 wRC+ across 306 plate appearances. That season represented a high point in his offensive development, as he showed a stronger combination of contact ability and on-base skills.
However, since that time, his production has steadily declined or plateaued. Across both the major league and minor league levels, he has struggled to generate power, and his ability to reach base consistently has not been strong enough to offset that limitation.
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In the majors specifically, Velazquez has never been known for offensive impact. His game has always leaned more heavily toward defense, speed, and positional flexibility rather than batting production. Over time, though, even his offensive contributions at lower levels have not been enough to elevate his overall profile. His lack of power is particularly notable, as he has consistently posted low slugging percentages and has rarely been a threat to hit extra-base hits in volume.
Despite those limitations, Velazquez still offers one important skill set that keeps him valuable to organizations looking for depth: speed. He remains a capable base runner and continues to be a threat on the bases at the minor league level. Since the beginning of the 2024 season, he has played in 224 minor league games and has successfully stolen 58 bases during that span. That level of stolen base production demonstrates that he still possesses quickness and instincts on the basepaths, even if his offensive output is otherwise limited.
His defensive profile is another key factor in why he continues to find opportunities within professional organizations. In the major leagues, Velazquez has primarily been used as a shortstop. His defensive reputation has fluctuated over the years, with some seasons showing strong metrics and others reflecting regression.
One of his best defensive campaigns came in 2022 with the Angels, when he accumulated 906 innings at shortstop and recorded 11 Defensive Runs Saved along with 3 Outs Above Average. Those numbers indicated strong defensive value and suggested he could handle the position at a high level during that season.
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However, the following year told a different story. In a smaller sample of 233 and one-third innings at shortstop, his defensive metrics declined significantly, finishing at -5 Defensive Runs Saved and -3 Outs Above Average. This drop-off suggested inconsistency in his defensive performance, though small sample sizes can sometimes exaggerate short-term struggles. Overall, across his career, his defensive performance has generally hovered around league average outside of those extreme highs and lows.
In addition to his work at shortstop, Velazquez has expanded his defensive versatility in recent years. Beginning in 2024, he has also logged innings in the outfield at the minor league level. This development has allowed teams to view him less as a single-position infielder and more as a utility player capable of filling multiple roles depending on roster needs.
The Diamondbacks’ official announcement of his signing reflects this expanded role, listing him as a utilityman rather than strictly an infielder, which suggests the organization values his ability to move around the field as needed.
Even with that versatility, Velazquez enters the Diamondbacks organization primarily as a depth piece rather than a candidate for an everyday role. Arizona already has established starters in key infield positions. At shortstop, Geraldo Perdomo is expected to hold the primary role, while Ketel Marte is entrenched at second base.
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Although both players have experienced early-season struggles at the plate, their long-term track records and organizational commitments suggest that their positions are secure. Perdomo, in particular, is coming off a breakout season in 2025 and has recently signed a contract extension, reinforcing the team’s confidence in him as their shortstop moving forward.
At third base, Nolan Arenado occupies the position, though he is in a different stage of his career. Now 35 years old, Arenado has experienced a noticeable decline in both offensive production and defensive impact compared to his peak years. Even so, his established reputation as one of the premier third basemen of his generation continues to give him a level of job security. His track record and career accomplishments provide him with more leeway than most struggling veterans, meaning he is not in immediate danger of losing his starting role.
Given this infield structure, Velazquez’s path to the major league roster in Arizona is limited. He is not expected to compete for a starting job under normal circumstances. Instead, his most realistic role would be as an emergency depth option who could be called up in the event of injuries or unexpected roster changes. His defensive flexibility, combined with his experience at multiple positions, makes him a logical candidate to fill in temporarily if a regular starter were to miss time.
In that sense, the signing is best understood as a low-risk organizational move. The Diamondbacks are not committing significant resources or roster space to Velazquez at the major league level. Instead, they are adding an experienced player who can serve as insurance across multiple positions within the infield and outfield. If he performs well in Triple-A, he could potentially earn a call-up later in the season, but his role will largely depend on the health and performance of the players ahead of him on the depth chart.
Overall, Andrew Velazquez’s journey reflects that of many veteran utility players in professional baseball. He brings defensive versatility, speed on the bases, and significant experience at the highest level of the sport. However, his offensive limitations have prevented him from securing a long-term major league role. His current signing with the Diamondbacks represents another opportunity to extend his career and remain ready in case a need arises at the big league level.
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