CHICAGO — The relief pitcher formerly known as Felipe Rivero is now officially Felipe Vázquez in Major League Baseball. The Pirates' closer sat at his locker stall inside the visitor's clubhouse inside Wrigley Field Tuesday morning, his No. 73 jersey hanging above his head with the name Vázquez stitched on the back.
Gregory Polanco walked by, rubbed the name plate and joked with Vázquez. Ivan Nova, the Pirates' starting pitcher for Tuesday's 2:20 p.m. game against the Cubs, did the same. Players have been joking with him about the name change in recent weeks; however, Rivero's decision to take his sister's last name was not made with haste.
He and his sister, Prescilla, have discussed making the change for years, and she approached him this offseason with a directive to submit the paperwork. The name change was made official in Osceola County court on March 26, but he admitted it was a little odd not seeing Rivero on the back of his jersey.
"My sister and I have been talking," Vázquez said Tuesday morning. "She decided it’s time. If she said something then let’s get it done. That’s the way it is."
Vázquez, a native of San Felipe, Venezuela, signed with the Rays as an international free agent in July 2008, and Priscilla joined him in the United States three years later. She has since served as his professional advisor, negotiating his four-year, $22 million contract extension this offseason and deciding he would drop Scott Boras as his agent. Additionally, she purchased a farm for her brother near Kissimmee, Fla.
Vázquez would not elaborate on why the two had different last names, but he said he has wanted to make the change since the two were children in Venezuela. He informed the Pirates of the change in spring training, but the club was still finalizing the process of getting it changed within MLB in recent days.
Signage around PNC Park reflects his old last name, and the Pirates have a "Felipe Rivero" bobblehead night scheduled for a Sept. 8 game against the Marlins.
According to Osceola County public records, Vázquez submitted his petition for a name change on Jan. 29 and appeared in court March 23 with a final judgement on the change being made March 26 — only three days before the Pirates were scheduled to open the season against the Tigers in Detroit.
Vázquez said he doesn't regret the timing of the change, although he expressed disappointment on Twitter Monday night that he was unable to inform fans earlier:
I want to apologize to all the fans that brought stuff with my name.. and saw all this happen but since was a long process I was not able to say anything till was actually approved.. my apologies to y’all...
— Felipe Vázquez (@Rivero43) April 10, 2018
After all, he has become one of the club's most popular players since being acquired from the Nationals on July 30, 2016. Vázquez had a 1.50 WHIP in 27 1/3 innings with the Pirates for the remainder of that season and emerged as one of the top relievers in the majors last season.
He became the club's full-time closer in June and finished the season with a 0.88 WHIP, 21 saves and 88 strikeouts to 20 walks. Vázquez then signed his contract extension with the Pirates in January, and he is not scheduled to become a free agent until 2021 at the earliest.
"When I signed my contract, I said, 'This is for you,'" Vázquez said of his sister. "'That’s your money. That’s yours. You earned it. That’s going to be for us, but you keep it. I don’t need that. You’re good. I need you here and that’s it.'"
The left-hander has allowed four earned runs in 3 2/3 innings this season, recording three saves. He has not pitched in a game since Thursday against the Reds. Vázquez told reporters that Clint Hurdle referred to him as Vázquez on the bullpen phone last week at PNC Park, and even Hurdle admitted it may take him some time to use the proper last name when speaking to bullpen coach Euclides Rojas.
"It will probably work itself out," Hurdle joked.