Cardinals signed OF Nelson Velázquez to a minor league contract with an invitation to spring training.
Velázquez, who hit .212/.286/.433 with 31 homers in 615 plate appearances for the Cubs and Royals from 2022-24, bounced around all over the place last year. The Royals released him from their Triple-A roster in May, at which point he went to Mexico and hit .357/.444/.658 in 49 games. That earned him a minor league contract from the Pirates, and he hit .284/.349/.554 in 18 games at the end of the year for Triple-A Indianapolis. Since then, he’s spent time in both the Dominican and Puerto Rican Winter Leagues. He should have some chance of making the Cardinals as a right-handed platoon option in the outfield corners and at DH, assuming the team doesn’t bring in a veteran option for that role.