Chicago Cubs Select Contracts of Two Major League Veterans Amid Injuries

A lot of moves were made

Craig Counsell | Matt Marton-Imagn Images

Every day it seems like the Chicago Cubs have more injuries piling up.

With the injury of reliever Caleb Thielbar, the Cubs have made some moves to supplement depth.

According to the Cubs' social media account, Thielbar has gone on the 15-day injured list with a left hamstring strain.

In a series of corresponding moves, the Cubs selected the contracts of infielder Nicky Lopez and right-hander Vince Velasquez, designated infielder Scott Kingery for assignment and transferred right-hander Porter Hodge to the 60-day IL after his Tommy John surgery.

Today’s roster moves presented by @NuveenInv: pic.twitter.com/mRX012PeRG

— Chicago Cubs (@Cubs) April 25, 2026

What Will Lopez and Velasquez Bring to the Chicago Cubs?

The Kansas City Royals selected Lopez in the fifth round of the 2016 MLB Draft out of Creighton University. Lopez is a native of Naperville, IL, and this will be his second stint with the Cubs.

He would make his debut in 2019 and played five seasons with Kansas City before bouncing around with the Atlanta Braves, Chicago White Sox, Los Angeles Angels and Cubs.

Lopez was signed to a minor league deal by the Colorado Rockies in the offseason and was traded back to the Cubs yesterday in exchange for cash.

Chicago Cubs infielder Nicky Lopez | Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images

Lopez is known as a contact-hitter with very little power. In 686 major league games (2374 plate appearances), he has just seven home runs.

Overall, he hasn't hit for average or power the last few seasons and doesn't walk very much. In seven years, Lopez has a .245/.310/.311 slash line.

In 15 Triple-A games in the Rockies' system, Lopez had a .333/.387/.519 slash line in a hitter-friendly league.

He can, however, provide defensive versatility. Lopez likely won't see much playing time with the infield set, but after Kingery's struggles, it's good to have depth.

Pittsburgh Pirates starting pitcher Vince Velasquez | Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images

As for Velasquez, he was a second-round pick by the Houston Astros in the 2010 MLB Draft out of high school. He would debut with the Astros in 2015 and has since pitched in 191 games (144 starts).

Over a nine-year career, he has pitched to a 4.88 ERA. With the Cubs' Triple-A affiliate in 2026, Velasquez pitched in four games (three starts) to a 3.71 ERA with 19 strikeouts over 17 innings.

While he can start games, we may see Velasquez come out of the bullpen amid some major injuries to Cubs relievers.

Look for Velasquez to have a major role in this Cubs bullpen with names like Thielbar, Hunter Harvey, Phil Maton and Daniel Palencia out.