Former Marlins, Yankees, and Braves starter Javier Vazquez will not pitch in the World Baseball Classic in March, and won't make a return to MLB this season. Vazquez had knee surgery in January, and that's the reason for him pulling out of the WBC as well as putting off plans to return to the majros in 2013.
Despite impressing scouts in workouts this spring, it's hard to see Vazquez coming back to the majors after sitting out second straight year. He last pitched in 2011 with the Marlins and had a solid year, throwing 192 2/3 innings and posting a 3.69 ERA, striking out 162 hitters in the process. However his velocity was down from where it normally was over his career, though it was up in comparison to 2010 with the Yankees.
Vazquez will be 37 in July, and without pitching in the majors for two years, the writing appears to be on the wall for him. There was a lot of interest in him this offseason as an insurance policy, and the Nationals were one team that were definitely drawn to Vazquez initially. Last month, we pondered the possibility of Vazquez being the best free agent signing this winter, but that's obviously dead and buried now. It's diappointing that Vazquez won't be pitching in the majors this year, because he really could have helped a lot of teams. But at this point in Spring Training, I'm really not sure that Vazquez would have even been ready for Opening Day, especially considering the WBC commitments he had before pulling out.
