Valera (knee) began taking batting practice this week.
After several weeks of throwing and running, Valera cleared a major hurdle by participating in batting practice. He is recovering from surgery to repair his right patellar tendon, and barring any setbacks, he should be cleared to begin defensive drills in early March.
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Guardians' George Valera: Will start running this week
Rotowire
Valera (knee) will begin on-field running this week.
Valera is 19 weeks removed from surgery to repair his right patellar tendon. He's been throwing and hitting and will add running and batting practice to his routine soon. The hope is that Valera will begin defensive drills in March, but it's not clear when he might be ready to play in games. Once healthy, he's projected to be assigned to Triple-A Columbus.
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Guardians' George Valera: Staying in Cleveland
Rotowire
The Guardians signed Valera (knee) to a minor-league contract Monday that includes an invitation to spring training.
Valera will remain in Cleveland after being non-tendered by the Guardians on Friday. The 24-year-old outfielder underwent surgery on his right knee in September to repair a ruptured patellar tendon, and he is unlikely to be ready for the start of the 2025 regular season. Valera will likely be assigned to Triple-A Columbus when he is fully healthy.
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Guardians' George Valera: Will undergo surgery on right knee
Rotowire
Valera was diagnosed with a patellar tendon rupture in his right knee Monday, Mandy Bell of MLB.com reports.
Valera was placed on Triple-A Columbus' 7-day injured list Friday due to what was initially listed as a right knee strain, but further tests revealed a more serious injury. He will undergo surgery Wednesday, and the expected recovery window is 6-to-9 months. The 23-year-old will finish his season in Triple-A with a slash line of .248/.337/.452 with six stolen bases, 17 home runs and 50 RBI across 374 plate appearances.
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Guardians' George Valera: Goes on IL
Rotowire
Valera was placed on Triple-A Columbus' 7-day injured list Friday due to a right knee strain.
Valera has been mostly able to avoid injuries this year after losing significant time in 2023 to various ailments. He's struggled to a .248/.337/.452 slash line and a 27.0 strikeout rate over 90 games while playing the whole year at Triple-A. He'll miss at least a week, but if the knee issue is even a moderate concern, he figures to be shut down for the year.
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Guardians' George Valera: Opens season on shelf
Rotowire
Triple-A Columbus placed Valera (hamstring) on its 7-day injured list Friday.
The outfield prospect suffered a strained hamstring early in spring training and is still working his way back from the injury, so he'll be inactive for the early part of the minor-league season. Valera, 23, slashed .211/.343/.375 with 10 home runs and one stolen base in 312 plate appearances for Columbus a season ago.
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Guardians' George Valera: Strains hamstring
Rotowire
Valera is expected to miss a few weeks due to a strained hamstring, Mandy Bell of MLB.com reports.
The timeline suggests Valera could miss time following spring training. Valera also missed time last season due to hamstring and wrist injuries, but he played 73 games for Triple-A Columbus and slashed .211/.343/.375 over 256 at-bats with 10 home runs and 35 RBI.
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Guardians' George Valera: Finishing up suspension
Rotowire
Valera will serve the final game of a six-game suspension Tuesday for Triple-A Columbus, Guardians Prospective reports.
Valera got into a dispute with an opposing catcher during an at-bat in a July 6 game at Nashville, which turned ugly with Valera eventually trying to throw punches while being restrained. It's been a year to forget thus far for the 22-year-old outfielder, as he has dealt with wrist and hamstring injuries while slashing .187/.319/.227 in 21 games for the Clippers.
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Guardians' George Valera: Rehabbing in Arizona
Rotowire
Valera (hamstring) went 2-for-3 with a home run, a double and two RBI in Tuesday's Arizona Complex League game versus the Rockies' affiliate.
Valera has progressed to rehab games in Arizona just a couple weeks after landing on the injured list for the second time this season. The outfield prospect may need a few more games in the ACL before rejoining the Triple-A Columbus lineup, where he'll look to stay healthy for an extended stretch.
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Guardians' George Valera: Goes on minor-league IL
Rotowire
Triple-A Columbus placed Valera (wrist) on its 7-day injured list April 2.
Valera underwent surgery on his right hand over the offseason and received a clean bill of health heading into spring training, but he aggravated the wrist in a Feb. 28 Cactus League game and remained sidelined for the rest of the Guardians' spring schedule. He's gradually increased his activities in the six weeks since, but it's not yet clear when he'll be ready to make his 2023 debut for Columbus. The outfielder will presumably join one of the Guardians' lower-level affiliates for a rehab assignment for a few games before rejoining Columbus.
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Guardians' George Valera: Sent down to Triple-A camp
Rotowire
Valera (wrist) was optioned Sunday to Triple-A Columbus by the Guardians, Mandy Bell of MLB.com reports.
Valera has been bothered by a wrist injury, but he wasn't a real candidate to make the Opening Day roster regardless of health. The 22-year-old is widely considered one of the better hitting prospects in the Cleveland system, however, so there's a very good chance that he will make his MLB debut before the close of the 2023 season.
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Guardians' George Valera: Doing bat-handling exercises
Rotowire
Valera (wrist) is doing light bat-handling exercises, Mandy Bell of MLB.com reports.
Valera had hamate bone surgery on his right wrist over the offseason and then had to be removed from a game last month with discomfort in the same wrist. There's no timetable for his return.
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Guardians' George Valera: Could require MRI
Rotowire
Guardians manager Terry Francona said Wednesday that Valera (wrist) could undergo imaging in the coming days, Zack Meisel of The Athletic reports.
As Francona notes, Valera's injured right wrist is on the same hand that required surgery for a broken hamate bone earlier in the offseason. Valera left Tuesday's Cactus League game against the Royals after fouling a baseball off the wrist area, and it's possible the discomfort he was experiencing was related to the surgery. Cleveland will keep a close eye on the outfield prospect over the next few days before deciding his next steps. If healthy, Valera has a chance to receive playing time in the Guardians outfield at some point in 2023.
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Guardians' George Valera: Exits with wrist discomfort
Rotowire
Valera had to leave Tuesday's game against the Royals with right wrist discomfort, Mandy Bell of MLB.com reports.
Valera fouled a ball off during a second-inning plate appearance before dropping the bat and immediately grabbing his wrist area in pain. The outfield prospect had surgery on the same hand over the offseason for a broken hamate bone, so this isn't a good sign. It's not clear at this point how long this might set Valera back.
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Guardians' George Valera: Recovered from offseason surgery
Rotowire
Valera is starting in center field and batting eighth in Sunday's spring training game against the Rangers.
He underwent surgery for a broken hamate bone in his right hand this offseason but was fully healed for the start of spring training. Valera went 0-for-2 in Saturday's spring game. He is on the 40-man roster but will likely get optioned to minor-league camp before the end of spring training.
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Guardians' George Valera: Mixed results after promotion
Rotowire
Valera slashed .221/.324/.448 with nine homers and a 22:45 BB:K across 42 games following his promotion to Triple-A Columbus.
Valera's full-season numbers look better, as he put together a .250/.353/.463 slash line with 24 homers in 132 games, but his fairly high strikeout rate and inability to hit for average in the minors offer some cause for concern. However, he did get bitten by the BABIP bug in Triple-A, so it's reasonable to consider that .221 batting average an outlier. It's also worth remembering that this was his age-21 campaign, so merely reaching that level is impressive. Nonetheless, while Valera's power carries his profile, he hasn't posted a slugging percentage north of .500 since High-A. He remains a valuable prospect, but it wouldn't be surprising if it were to take him a few years to develop into a productive big leaguer.
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Guardians' George Valera: Elevated to Triple-A
Rotowire
The Guardians promoted Valera from Double-A Akron to Triple-A Columbus on Monday, Zack Meisel of The Athletic reports.
Cleveland recently bumped up two of its top position prospects (Tyler Freeman and Will Benson) from Triple-A to the majors, so Valera will move up a level to help Columbus fill one of the vacancies in its everyday lineup. The 22-year-old lefty-hitting outfielder supplied a .264/.367/.470 slash line to go with 15 home runs and two stolen bases in 387 plate appearances for Akron this season.
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Guardians' George Valera: Appears in Futures Game
Rotowire
Valera represented the American League in the Futures Game on Saturday, going 0-for-2 with a strikeout and a groundout.
On the bright side, the overall picture is far rosier for Valera now than it was earlier in the season, as he's posted a sharp .302/.374/.564 batting line with 11 home runs and 43 RBI across his last 45 games. It took Valera a while to settle in at Double-A, but he's finally starting to deliver the stats we expect from a prospect of his caliber. His overall line (.272/.373/.484) is excellent for a 21-year-old in Double-A, considering that he's three years younger than the average player at that level.
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Guardians' George Valera: Optioned to minors
Rotowire
Valera was optioned to minor-league camp Sunday.
Valera was added to the Guardians' 40-man roster in November and spent the early portion of spring training with the big-league club. The 21-year-old had a .978 OPS last season at High-A Lake County to earn a late-season promotion, and he hit .267/.340/.407 in 23 games for Double-A Arkansas, where he's likely to open 2022.
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Guardians' George Valera: Rewarded with 40-man roster spot
Rotowire
Valera was added to Cleveland's 40-man roster Friday.
Cleveland's second-best prospect and best outfield prospect, Valera was a lock to be protected from the Rule 5 draft. He combines plus power with a very selective approach and has a chance to be a middle-of-the-oder masher in a couple years.
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