The Tecolotes de los Dos Laredos of the Mexican League have signed left-hander Andrew Vasquez to a contract for the 2025 season, according to KPRC2’s Ari Alexander. Vasquez can walk away from the deal if he receives interest from a big league club, with the Tecolotes owing nothing in buyout fees.
Vasquez has logged 63 2/3 career innings over five MLB seasons, with the large majority of that action coming when he pitched 48 1/3 frames for the Phillies and Tigers in 2023. His bottom-line results of a 3.35 ERA were solid, though his strikeout (19.6%) and walk (10.5%) rates were both subpar, and his performance fell off drastically after he went to the Tigers on a waiver claim. Philadelphia opted to designate Vasquez for assignment just after the trade deadline in order to clear roster space, despite Vasquez’s 2.27 ERA in 39 2/3 innings for the club.
After struggling to an 8.31 ERA in 8 2/3 innings with his new team, Vasquez returned to the Tigers last winter on a minors contract and spent the entire 2024 campaign at Triple-A Toledo. Vasquez’s situation wasn’t helped by a lack of minor league options, but he didn’t make much of a case for promotion after posting a 5.11 ERA, 19.4% strikeout rate, and 9.6% walk rate over 68 2/3 innings with Toledo.
This stint in the Mexican League marks the first time in Vasquez’s pro career (which began as a 32nd-round pick for the Twins in 2015) that he has pitched outside of affiliated baseball. The 31-year-old should find more of a regular role with the Tecolotes than he would in battling amongst other minor league signings withing a Major League team’s camp, and his contract’s out clause allows Vazquez some flexibility if he pitches well enough to attract attention from MLB scouts.