Cleveland Guardians To Sign Compelling Veteran Pitcher, Per Report

If the Cleveland Guardians learned one thing last season, it's that you can never have too much pitching. You never know when a player will get injured or when other staff members will not live up to their expectations.
Cleveland already has plenty of options for their starting rotation for the 2025 season but just added another by signing RHP Vince Velasquez to a Minor League deal with an invite to Major League Spring Training.
Jon Heyman of the New York Post initially reported the signing on Tuesday afternoon, and Cleveland.com's Paul Hoynes also reported the signing later in the evening. However, the team has yet to officially announce it.
Vince Velasquez, pending physical, has agreed to a minor league deal with Guards, including invite to big-league camp. He'll make $1.5 m if he makes big league club with a chance to earn another $2.5 m in incentives. Did not pitch in 2024 because of elbow surgery.
— paul hoynes (@hoynsie) February 5, 2025
Velasquez, 32, is well past the prime of his career but still proved he can throw valuable innings in a limited role during his 2023 season with the Pittsburgh Pirates. However, he missed the 2024 season following elbow surgery.
This is a very similar story to that of Matthew Boyd, another veteran pitcher who became a playoff hero for the Guardians in 2024.
In Velasquez's eight games for Pittsburgh in 2023, and had a 3.86 ERA, 3.87 FIP, and a 1.313 WHIP.
Yes, it's an incredibly small sample size. However, it at least proves that Velasquez has something left in the tank if the Guardians call on him to start a game or two throughout the season.
An interesting piece about this signing is that Velasquez has above-average arm extension on his pitches, which is a trend in Cleveland's current rotation and in their past aces.
Shane Bieber, Tanner Bibee, Triston McKenzie, and even Luis Ortiz, who the Guardians traded for from the Pirates, all have high extensions on the pitchers.
Perhaps this is a sign that Carl Willies and the rest of the Guardians' pitching groups know how to help get the most out of Velasquez and why he's in the organization.
With Cleveland's current rotation full of question marks and unknowns, adding a veteran arm such as Velasquez can only help the team, not hurt them.