Pirates closer Felipe Rivero has legally changed his name to Felipe Vázquez.
Vázquez is the surname of the pitcher’s sister Prescilla, with whom he lives in Florida in the offseason. Felipe Vázquez frequently posts about his sister on social media, and he visited her during an off-day last Tuesday, according to an Instagram post.
Surprise mi sister is a singer in case you didn’t know🤭🤭🤭🤭 #Singer #BACHATA pic.twitter.com/7M4yr38DDh
— Felipe Rivero (@Rivero43) January 3, 2018
“We are the yin and yang,” Prescilla Vázquez said by telephone Monday.
“We’re just very together,” she added. “We’ve been through a lot together, so he always confides in me.”
The pitcher’s jersey will be changed sometime soon to reflect his legal surname, but he said Monday he was not sure exactly when that would happen.
“I think [the Pirates] know already, but I think they’re making it, so I don’t know when they’re going to be ready,” he said Monday. “They might be ready already.”
Responding to the name change, Brian Warecki, the Pirates’ vice president of communications and broadcasting, said in a statement: “We were made aware of Felipe’s decision and are working through the process of having the change of his last name reflected within MLB.”
Prescilla Vázquez has advised Felipe Vázquez on various matters related to his baseball career. At PiratesFest in December, he said he switched agents at her urging, and he also said she was the primary negotiator of his new contract with the Pirates. The deal was inked in January and keeps Vázquez under team control through 2021, with club options for 2022 and 2023.
“If my sister’s happy, I’m happy too, so that’s why I do everything for her,” Felipe Vázquez said.
Felipe Vázquez tweeted an apology to fans who had purchased merchandise with “Rivero” on it:
I want to apologize to all the fans that brought stuff with my name.. and saw all this happen but since was a long process I was not able to say anything till was actually approved.. my apologies to y’all...
— Felipe Vázquez (@Rivero43) April 10, 2018
Felipe Vázquez said he had contemplated changing his last name for years, but the discussion ramped up during the offseason. The legal change was finalized March 26, Prescilla Vázquez said.
“Sometimes people have different goals,” she said. “To us we always believe family’s first, so some people look up to different idols.”
The pitcher also said he may change his jersey number next season in consultation with his sister.
“When she says it’s time to change my number, I’ll do it,” he said.
Elizabeth Bloom: ebloom@post-gazette.com, 412-263-1750 and Twitter @BloomPG.
First Published: April 9, 2018, 10:44 p.m.
