CLEARWATER, Fla. -- There was a player sitting in the Orioles’ bullpen last Sunday at BayCare Ballpark who had long dirty-blonde hair, sleeve tattoos down his non-throwing arm and the name “Vespi” on the back of his jersey. He was there for this Sunday’s O’s-Phillies game, too.
No, Nick Vespi hasn’t returned to Baltimore. It was his younger brother Ben, who signed with the Orioles as an undrafted free agent last July and was invited over from Minor League camp to serve as an extra pitcher each of the past two Sundays.
It wasn’t a coincidence that the younger Vespi’s first two road trips with the O’s were to Clearwater. The team brought him along knowing that Nick -- who previously pitched for Baltimore from 2022-24 -- is in Philadelphia’s big league camp on a Minor League deal.
Last Sunday’s Vespi reunion brought an opportunity both brothers had waited a long time for: Nick (29 years old) and Ben (23) took a pregame photo standing on the field in MLB uniforms.
“A surreal moment,” said Bo Vespi, their father. “Honestly, dude, I can’t even put it into words. Pretty special.”
“It was just such a blessing sharing the field with my brother,” Ben added. “That was the first time ever.”
Bo and his wife Tina live in Boynton Beach, Fla., just south of West Palm Beach and a drive of 235 or so miles away from Clearwater. But they weren’t going to miss an opportunity to see their two sons at the same game. Their other two sons -- Caleb (a master sergeant in the Air Force reserve and a firefighter) and Adam (an Army helicopter pilot) -- were surely proud from afar.
“I’d say they got a little emotional, just seeing us together and being down there in the bullpen sitting there. I know my parents are extremely proud of us,” Nick said. “They’ve put in a lot of effort and sacrificed a lot of time for us to be here today. We’re extremely grateful.”
To Nick, the most difficult aspect of facing off against his old organization -- now his brother’s -- was that he and Ben couldn’t chat throughout the game. The bullpens at BayCare Ballpark are adjacent and closer than many, but the two were on opposite ends.
Or maybe that was actually a good thing for Ben’s sake.
“Shoot, if I see him warming up, I think I might be like, ‘Hey, do this, do that,’” joked Nick, who allowed one run in one inning in his Phils debut vs. the O’s last Sunday. “No, Ben works extremely hard. I’m glad he got this opportunity.”
After spending the past four years pitching at the University of Central Florida, Ben signed with the Orioles and participated in a Draft camp in Sarasota over the final two months of last season. The right-hander, who had a 5.62 ERA in 16 collegiate starts last year, has yet to make his professional debut in Baltimore’s organization.
Ben spent the offseason working on pitch designs and working out with Nick in Boynton Beach, where the two lived together. Ben hopes to one day make it to the Majors with the O’s, just as Nick did when he first took a big league mound on May 20, 2022.
“It’s just such an amazing organization,” Ben said. “I feel like they bring out a lot of prospects, young talent, and bring them up through the system. Just everyone gets a lot better and just [see] a great future ahead of me.”
Nick’s three-year stint with the Orioles -- who took the left-hander out of Palm Beach State College in the 18th round of the 2015 Draft -- featured a lot of shuttling between Baltimore and Triple-A Norfolk, so much so that he became quite the frequent flyer.
After recording a 3.88 ERA in 45 appearances over many stints with the O’s, Nick is hoping to make a positive impression on the Phillies this spring.
“He’s looking really good,” Ben said. “He looks better and better every year.”
“If anything, Nick is probably a good role model for anyone in the same situation,” Bo said. “He couldn’t have handled [the past three years] any more professionally, kept a positive outlook.”
Nick can also serve as a good role model for his younger brother, whom he hopes to again share a field with in the future. Maybe even as fellow big leaguers in regular-season action.
“I just tell him, ‘It’s the same game, no matter where you’re at. Throw strikes, attack hitters,’” Nick said. “Obviously, guys hit the ball a little further up here. But I try and dummy it down for him to keep it simple and not overthink things.”
MLB.com Phillies reporter Todd Zolecki contributed to this story.