Well, the Luis Vázquez era with the Baltimore Orioles lasted less than a week. The Cubs made a trade with the Orioles at the end of January, sending the infielder to Baltimore for some cash. Now, Vázquez is once again in limbo as the Orioles designated him for assignment on Tuesday.
The 25-year-old has now been DFA'd two times in less than two weeks. This time the Orioles moved him off their 40-man roster to make room for outfielder Ramón Laureano. The free agent signed a one-year contract with Baltimore that also includes a mutual option for the 2026 season.
#Orioles make the signing of Ramón Laureano official. The deal also has a club option for 2026.
— Jake Rill (@JakeDRill) February 4, 2025
To make room on the 40-man roster, infielder Luis Vázquez was designated for assignment. https://t.co/VsHpIWLshy
The Cubs DFA'd Vázquez in January after officially signing veteran infielder Jon Berti.
(Previous Update)
Earlier this week the Chicago Cubs made room on the 40-man roster by designating infielder Luis Vázquez for assignment to bring in veteran free agent Jon Berti. Now, the Cubs have traded Vázquez to the Baltimore Orioles.
We've seen these types of deals throughout the offseason as the Cubs have let go of players who are eventually traded for cash considerations. That's once again the case for Vázquez, who played in 11 games for the Cubs in 2024.
The Cubs have traded infielder Luis Vázquez to the Orioles in exchange for cash considerations. He had been DFA’d.
— Meghan Montemurro (@M_Montemurro) January 31, 2025
Vázquez, 25, has been in the Cubs' organization since he was drafted in 2017. The right-handed hitter made it up to Triple-A in 2023, and has the reputation of being great defensively on the infield. Vázquez has started at second and third base, but much of his value comes from his stellar glove work at shortstop.
Vázquez slashed .263/.347/.432 with eight home runs in 64 games at Triple-A with the Iowa Cubs in 2024.
(Previous Update)
The Chicago Cubs made a few acquisitions official on Tuesday, announcing the trade for Ryan Pressly and also the signing of veteran infielder Jon Berti. The 35-year-old played for the New York Yankees in 2024, and agreed to a one-year deal with the Cubs for the 2025 season.
To make room on the 40-man roster for Berti the Cubs designated 25-year-old infielder Luis Vázquez for assignment.
The #Cubs today have agreed to terms with INF Jon Berti on a one-year major league contract. To make room on the 40-man roster for Berti, INF Luis Vázquez was designated for assignment. The 40-man roster currently stands at 40 players.
— Chicago Cubs (@Cubs) January 28, 2025
Welcome to Chicago, Jon! pic.twitter.com/YIVF9vbKQ9
Berti will reportedly earn a base salary of $2 million for the 2025 season and has an additional $1.3 million available in incentives.
Vázquez, who made his MLB debut with the Cubs in 2024, wasn't used much at all during his two stints with the club last season. He was first called up on May 21, but was sent back down to Triple-A on May 30. The infielder returned to the big leagues in August and stayed up through the end of the regular season. Vázquez got a total of 14 plate appearances and played in a total of 11 games.
Vázquez broke out offensively in 2023, posting an .817 OPS with 20 home runs in 124 games between Double-A and Triple-A. His numbers dipped in 2024, as Vázquez slashed .263/.347/.432 with the Iowa Cubs. The right-handed hitter was only 1-for-12 in his brief playing time in the big leagues.
A great glove at shortstop, Vázquez has the skillset to start at the position in MLB, but the bat is a serious question mark, so it'll be interesting to see if he's picked up or not by a team on waivers. You can read more about Berti and his likely role on the 2025 team below.
