Astros Release Nelson Velázquez, the Playoff Homer Hero, to Pursue an Opportunity in Asia
The 27-year-old outfielder leaves Houston after 18 regular-season games - and one of the wild-card round's most memorable swings, a pinch-hit two-run homer in Game 1 against the White Sox. His release opens a spot on the Astros' 40-man roster.
The Houston Astros have released outfielder Nelson Velázquez so he can pursue an opportunity with a team in Asia, Sports Illustrated's Astros On SI reported Wednesday, a move first reported Tuesday by MLB.com's Brian McTaggart. The release gives Houston an additional spot on its 40-man roster. The Astros did not name the Asian team Velázquez will join.
Velázquez's Houston chapter was short and strange. He began the 2026 season with St. Louis, earned a place on the Cardinals' major league roster in late May and appeared in 34 games with a .722 OPS, showing power but striking out more than 30 percent of the time. The Cardinals designated him for assignment in early August, the Astros claimed him off waivers on August 10, and Houston designated him for assignment just 10 days later - he cleared waivers, elected free agency, and then returned on a minor league deal. In his brief return he went 3-for-27 with 13 strikeouts, although two of his three hits left the park; across 18 regular-season games with the Astros he hit .111/.167/.333 with two home runs and six RBIs.
What Houston fans will remember is October. In Game 1 of the wild-card round against the Chicago White Sox, Velázquez entered as a pinch-hitter and delivered a two-run home run, finishing 1-for-3 in a game Houston lost 6-3 - one of the team's most memorable moments of the series, SI noted. He finished the regular season with six home runs across 52 games between St. Louis and Houston, batting .188/.257/.406.
The profile that made him intriguing is the same one that made him available: across 728 career plate appearances he has hit 37 home runs with a .221 isolated power mark, but with a career strikeout rate of 29.5 percent and a swinging-strike rate of 16.1 percent, and he graded below average defensively in the corner outfield spots this past season, at minus-4 Defensive Runs Saved in 151 1/3 innings. At 27, he now looks for the regular playing time overseas that two organizations could not give him here.
