​Houston Astros left fielder Nelson Velázquez (30) celebrates his two-run home run in the dugout during the fourth inning against the Chicago White Sox at Daikin Park in Houston on Monday, Aug. 31, 2026. (Elizabeth Conley/Houston Chronicle)
A baseball season always comes with plenty of ups and downs. Nelson Velázquez’s August alone included more than its fair share of downs.The 27-year-old outfielder was designated for assignment twice by two different teams, but just a week after that second team brought him right back, he delivered a huge home run in the Houston Astros’ 6-3 win over the Chicago White Sox on Monday at Daikin Park.It was Velázquez’s first hit for the Astros – the team that had designated him for assignment just 11 days earlier – in a stint that had included just 11 at-bats, entering Monday, spread over two stints in August.”Finally,” he said with a smile in a celebratory Astros’ clubhouse.Velázquez was 0-for-12 with a sacrifice fly with his new team when he stepped to the plate with two outs and a runner on third in the fourth inning. He took a 1-1 belt-high fastball from White Sox starter Anthony Kay and blasted it 415 feet, banging it off the concrete barrier below the train tracks in left field.Cam Smith, who doubled and tripled in the win, had a good view of the towering blast from his spot, standing on third.”That was pretty,” he said. “I knew it right off the bat. So happy for Nelly.”Velázquez and Smith, both right-handers, teaming up for a big night is a good sign for an Astros team clinging to a two-game lead over the Texas Rangers in the American League West. All season, Houston has been searching for production from its outfielders not named Yordan Alvarez. The right-handed hitting outfielders have had particularly rough seasons at the plate, combining to hit .207 – the second-worst in baseball – with a .270 on-base percentage, which is the fourth-worst in the majors.The Astros had that thought in mind when they first claimed Velázquez off waivers from the St. Louis Cardinals three weeks ago. However, after two weeks and just four at-bats, Velázquez was designated for assignment by his new team when Jeremy Peña got hit on the hand by a pitch and infield depth was needed. Four days later, Velázquez was brought back to the team.”I’m just here to play the game,” Velázquez said. “At the end of the day, I’ve got to be able to play whenever they want. I don’t know what was the conversation or what was their plan, but I’m still here and I’m happy for that.”The Astros are happy as well and will feel good about putting him back out there in the outfield against lefty starters.”He’s working hard,” Astros manager Joe Espada said. “He’s hit some balls really hard. It’s coming. I’m just glad the first one that put some numbers in his batting average meant a lot to our club.”As someone who’s with his fourth big-league team in five seasons and just a year removed from playing in the Mexican League, Velázquez is