With 'opportunity' to start again, Velasquez looking to bounce back with Pirates

Vince Velasquez went into the offseason with the hope to find someone who would give him a chance to go back in the rotation.

With the Pirates, he is getting that chance.

"It was a quick decision," Velasquez said at his introduction at PNC Park Tuesday. "I realized the opportunity that was being given was definitely something I wanted to advantage of."

After bouncing across the league and between the rotation and bullpen the past four years, Velasquez, a 30-year-old eight-year pro, is coming to the Pirates with the intention of being a part of their 2023 rotation.

"We are happy to bring Vince into our starting pitching group," Ben Cherington said in a released statement. "He has a starter's repertoire and we are looking forward to working with him and watching him start games in black and gold."

The rotation was a priority for the Pirates this offseason, who were looking to add at least one starter. Velasquez and the team came to terms on a one-year, $3.15 million contract during last week's Winter Meetings in San Diego, with the hope being that he could be their most recent reclamation project. The Pirates rolled the dice on Tyler Anderson and José Quintana the last two offseasons, both of whom split time in the rotation and bullpen the year before they signed and went on to have bounce back campaigns.

With Velasquez, the hope is Oscar Marin and the pitching team can go 3-for-3 with their starter reclamation projections.

"That’s definitely in the back of my mind," Velasquez said, "realizing that I can definitely be one of those assets, one of the guys who come in, potentially be a leader but also take advantage of that opportunity that's being granted."

Velasquez went 3-3 with a 4.78 ERA over 27 appearances -- nine of which were starts -- and 75 1/3 innings with the White Sox last year. While a majority of his outings came as a reliever, which would suggest a simpler pitch repertoire, Velasquez actually moved away from his four-seamer more last year, throwing it just 44% of the time compared to 62.5% in 2019, according to Baseball Savant. Instead, he mixed in more sliders and sinkers, adding more vertical movement.

The change in pitch mix resulted in a noticeable drop in walks (11.8 walk percentage in 2021 to 7.8% in 2022). He also posted a lower strikeout rate, partially because he leaned more on a mentality of putting away hitters by any fashion rather than relying on strikeouts. He knows PNC Park is a larger ballpark, and he's planning on using it.

So if you're hoping he could pull off another 16 strikeout game, like he did on April 14, 2016 with the Phillies, that probably isn't happening. He's a different pitcher now.

"At that time, I was a thrower," Velasquez said. "I was a guy who had high velocity. But you realize you can't do that effectively from the first inning through the ninth inning. When I was a young guy, I probably could, but now I'm, you know, a little bit older and, you know, it's gonna take a little bit, a little bit out of me and the next day, I'll be sore. I think it's more [about] controlling the counts, being effective in the strike zone and utilizing all my pitches."

Velasquez's fastball velocity has dropped to a roughly league-average 93.2 mph, though he still possessed above average spin on it and his slider. An analyst told DK Pittsburgh Sports that despite its decrease in velocity, it still has the potential to be a plus pitch. 

The Pirates believe in his stuff as well, and Velasquez feels he has learned a lot about himself between those trips to the bullpen and his work with a personal pitching coach.

"I think every day is a learning experience," Velasquez said. "I don't take anything for granted. I think it's more so trying to build the learning curve. Sometimes you have to reinvent the wheel a little bit, but there's nothing wrong with taking a couple steps back and taking 10 steps forward. I think that's one of the things that I've really matured [about] over the years, constantly going back and forth with different organizations. This is something I can really harness and take to my advantage and really apply it."

Velasquez has stuff that could play out of the rotation, but it is far from guaranteed that he will stay in that role all year if he doesn't perform. The Pirates are set to promote many of their top pitching prospects at some point in 2023, including Quinn Priester, Mike Burrows and Luis Ortiz.

Not that he's looking over his shoulder. He's focused on getting that chance to start again.

"I'm here have an impact on everybody, to show that there is opportunity, there is possibility, there is light at the end of the tunnel," Velasquez said. "And that's that's my whole mentality, knowing that this was an opportunity I needed to take."

With Velasquez's contract finalized, the Pirates' roster is now full at 40 players. They will need to make a corresponding roster move when left-handed reliever Jarlín García, whose contract is pending a physical, is officially signed.