The Astros have brought Nelson Velázquez back on a new major league deal, reversing the roster move they made just days ago.
Houston informed reporters, including Chandler Rome of The Athletic, that it re-signed the outfielder and optioned infielder Ray Delgado to Triple-A Sugar Land to clear a spot on the active roster. The club already had an opening on the 40-man roster after dropping Velázquez last week.
It’s a quick turnabout for a team that had only just moved Delgado up as extra infield help while Jeremy Peña was day to day after taking a pitch off the body. Velázquez, meanwhile, was the last man on the bench and out of minor league options, which forced Houston to put him on waivers. He went unclaimed and chose free agency yesterday.
Peña sat out two games but was back in the starting lineup on Saturday, and the Astros now appear comfortable enough with his status to send Delgado back to Triple-A and restore Velázquez as a right-handed outfield option. The timing mattered, too: Houston was down a righty bat for the final two games of its weekend set against the Athletics.
On Saturday, the A’s started lefty Jacob Lopez, a matchup Velázquez likely would have drawn. Instead, the Astros used LaMonte Wade Jr. against the southpaw, and Wade finished 1-3 in a 4-3 loss.
Velázquez, 27, has appeared in three games for Houston since being claimed off waivers from the Cardinals on August 10. He has gone 0-4 with a sacrifice fly across five plate appearances.
Before that, he played in 34 games for St. Louis over two and a half months and is hitting .205/.273/.410 with four homers in his first big league action since 2024.
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