Velazquez cleared waivers and was outrighted to Triple-A Omaha on Sunday.
Velazquez posted a .595 OPS over 29 plate appearances during spring training, so Kansas City won't keep him on the 40-man roster. The 26-year-old clubbed 14 homers in just 40 games for the Royals in 2023 but delivered a .200/.274/.366 slash line in 64 regular-season contests last year.
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Royals' Nelson Velazquez: Back in action Friday
Rotowire
Velazquez (calf) is starting in right field and batting cleanup in Friday's spring game against the Angels.
Velazquez departed Wednesday's contest due to calf cramps but is ready to rejoin the lineup after a day off. The 26-year-old hasn't put himself in a strong position to earn a place on the Opening Day roster, as he's gone 2-for-16 through eight spring games.
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Royals' Nelson Velazquez: Dealing with calf cramps
Rotowire
Velazquez exited Wednesday's Cactus League game versus the Mariners due to a calf cramp, Anne Rogers of MLB.com reports.
Manager Matt Quatraro didn't seem too concerned with Velazquez's injury while relaying the diagnosis after the game, so the 26-year-old outfielder isn't likely to miss much time. He's had a tough time at the plate this spring, going 2-for-16 with two runs scored over eight games.
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Royals' Nelson Velazquez: Makes early exit Wednesday
Rotowire
Velazquez was removed from Wednesday's Cactus League game against Seattle due to an apparent injury, Anne Rogers of MLB.com reports.
Velazquez suffered the injury while fielding a ball near the outfield wall, though it's not immediately apparent what he's dealing with. Kansas City will take a closer look at him and should provide some clarity on his status soon.
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Royals' Nelson Velazquez: Sent back to Triple-A
Rotowire
The Royals optioned Velazquez to Triple-A Omaha on Monday.
Velazquez was hitting just .122/.240/.171 in June and had seen his playing time dry up, so the Royals have elected to send him down to the minors with the hope that he can get on track at the plate. Expect Freddy Fermin to continue seeing an uptick in playing time with Velazquez now at Omaha.
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Royals' Nelson Velazquez: Back in lineup Sunday
Rotowire
Velazquez will serve as the designated hitter and bat seventh in Sunday's series finale against the Rangers.
Velazquez was originally slated to sit for the fourth consecutive game Sunday, but he was inserted into the lineup after Adam Frazier was scratched due to a right thumb sprain he sustained in Saturday's 6-0 loss. Velazquez will look to take advantage of the opportunity as he faces off against the returning Max Scherzer on Sunday.
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Royals' Nelson Velazquez: Sitting again Saturday
Rotowire
Velazquez is not in the starting lineup for Saturday's game against Texas.
Velazquez will be out of the lineup Saturday for the third straight game. The lefty-hitting Vinnie Pasquantino will serve as the designated hitter and bat third against Rangers right-hander Jon Gray.
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Royals' Nelson Velazquez: Absent from lineup again
Rotowire
Velazquez is not in the lineup for Friday's contest versus the Rangers.
The hot-hitting Freddy Fermin will make a second straight start at designated hitter. Velazquez has just a .401 OPS so far in June and has now been absent from the starting lineup for seven of 18 games this month.
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Royals' Nelson Velazquez: Not starting Sunday
Rotowire
Velazquez is not in the lineup for Sunday's game against the Dodgers.
This marks the second absence in three days for Velazquez, who has struggled to a .129/.256/.194 slash line so far this month. His overall OPS is down more than 200 points from a year ago. He could see his playing time squeezed further in the short term due to Salvador Perez needing time at designated hitter to combat a knee injury.
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Royals' Nelson Velazquez: Getting breather Friday
Rotowire
Velazquez is out of the lineup for Friday's game against the Dodgers.
After starting in each of the Royals last four games, Velazquez will get the day off Friday. Adam Frazier will DH and bat fifth while Drew Waters handles right field and bats eighth.
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Royals' Nelson Velazquez: Out of lineup Sunday
Rotowire
Velazquez is not in the starting lineup for Sunday's series finale against the Mariners.
Velazquez will get a breather Sunday after going 1-for-7 with two RBI and two walks over the first two games of the series. Salvador Perez will serve as the designated hitter Sunday, while Freddy Fermin starts behind home plate.
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Royals' Nelson Velazquez: Nabs rare steal
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Velazquez went 0-for-3 with a walk, a stolen base and a run scored in Saturday's 8-4 win over the Mariners.
Velazquez has gone just 2-for-15 with three walks over five games in June. The outfielder was able to make a rare impact with his legs Saturday, picking up his second steal of the campaign. His power started to come around in late May but has vanished again in June, and he's at a middling .212/.283/.402 slash line with eight home runs, 25 RBI and 29 runs scored through 198 plate appearances this season.
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Royals' Nelson Velazquez: Exiting starting nine Thursday
Rotowire
Velazquez is out of the lineup for Thursday's game against the Guardians.
With Hunter Renfroe occupying right field and Salvador Perez getting a day off from catching and serving as the Royals' designated hitter, Velazquez's primary two avenues to playing time are closed off Thursday. Velazquez still looks to be a near-everyday player for Kansas City, as he had started in 11 of the team's previous 12 games.
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Royals' Nelson Velazquez: Taking seat Sunday
Rotowire
Velazquez is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Padres.
Velazquez will get a day off in the series finale after he had started in each of Kansas City's last 10 games. Salvador Perez will get a break from catching duties and will serve as the Royals' designated hitter while Velazquez sits.
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Royals' Nelson Velazquez: Goes yard Friday
Rotowire
Velazquez went 1-for-4 with a solo home run and an additional RBI in Friday's 11-8 loss to the Padres.
That's now five homers over Velazquez's last nine games. He was nearly the hero in the Royals' ninth-inning rally, which started with his solo shot and ended on a deep flyout to left-center field. The outfielder is slashing .220/.283/.415 with eight homers, 21 RBI, 25 runs scored and a stolen base over 49 contests, though he slugged .475 in May with a welcome return of the impactful power he showed in the second half of 2023.
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Royals' Nelson Velazquez: Clubs pair of homers
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Velazquez went 2-for-4 with two home runs and three RBI in Wednesday's 6-1 win over the Twins.
Velazquez looks to be regaining his power swing with four homers over his last seven contests. He's still lacking in overall consistency at the plate -- he was hitless in his previous three games before his strong effort Wednesday. The 25-year-old is up to seven long balls on the year while adding 19 RBI, 24 runs scored, one stolen base and a .224/.292/.410 slash line over 47 contests. Velazquez is seeing steady playing time between the corner outfield spots and designated hitter.
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Royals' Nelson Velazquez: Homer, double in win
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Velazquez went 2-for-5 with a solo home run, an RBI double and two total runs scored in Saturday's 7-4 extra-innings win over the Rays.
Velazquez has gone 12-for-39 (.308) with three homers and eight RBI over his last 11 games. The outfielder opened the scoring with a second-inning blast off Aaron Civale and added the go-ahead RBI in the 11th. Velazquez's power has been slow to show in 2024, but he looks to be going in the right direction for now. Overall, he's at .232/.301/.394 slash line with five homers, 16 RBI, 22 runs scored and one stolen base through 156 plate appearances.
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Royals' Nelson Velazquez: Knocks homer
Rotowire
Velazquez went 1-for-2 with a solo home run, two walks and two total runs scored in Wednesday's 8-3 win over the Tigers.
Velazquez had sat out the previous two games, suggesting he could be losing some playing time versus right-handed pitchers. He looked solid against Tigers lefty ace Tarik Skubal, taking him deep in the fourth inning. Velazquez is batting a meager .224 (11-for-49) in May, but he's hit two homers and driven in five runs over his last five games. The outfielder is slashing .226/.295/.368 with four homers, 13 RBI, 20 runs scored, one stolen base and seven doubles over 146 plate appearances this season. He's struggled to consistently tap into power as he did with 17 homers over 53 games a year ago, so it's possible Velazquez could continue to lose playing time to Adam Frazier or Freddy Fermin if he can't turn things around.
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Royals' Nelson Velazquez: Not starting Tuesday
Rotowire
Velazquez is out of the lineup for Tuesday's game against the Tigers.
Velazquez will sit for a second straight game, leaving DH duties to Adam Frazier on Tuesday. Since May 10, Velazquez is 8-for-28 (.286) with a three-run home run.
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Royals' Nelson Velazquez: Taking seat Monday
Rotowire
Velazquez is not in the lineup for Monday's game against the Tigers.
Velazquez had started seven of the last eight contests but will begin this one on the bench. Salvador Perez will be the designated hitter, Hunter Renfroe will start in right field and Freddy Fermin will be at catcher.
