Guardians outfield prospect George Valera is headed for season-ending surgical procedure, tweets Mandy Bell of MLB.com. The 23-year-old sustained a ruptured patellar tendon in his proper knee whereas making an attempt to make a catch on the wall in Triple-A. The process comes with a six-to-nine month restoration timetable, so it’s possible Valera will open subsequent season on the injured record.
Accidents have sapped a few of Valera’s worth. The lefty-swinging outfielder appeared on the again half of Baseball America’s prime 100 prospect lists in each 2022 and ’23. Valera underwent hamate surgical procedure throughout the 2022-23 offseason and has had transient injured record stints due to hamstring points within the final couple years. He’d been wholesome between the beginning of Might and the center of September this 12 months, spending the whole time on non-obligatory task to Triple-A Columbus.
Valera had hit very nicely by way of Double-A. His Triple-A numbers are nearer to common. He’s a profession .229/.336/.424 hitter in 205 video games on the degree. That features a .248/.337/.452 line with 17 homers in 374 plate appearances this 12 months. Whereas Valera has a robust 12% stroll charge, he has gone down on strikes at a lofty 27% clip. A middle fielder early in his profession, he has performed all however 9 innings within the corners or at designated hitter this 12 months.
Cleveland has carried Valera on the 40-man roster going again to the 2021-22 offseason. He has spent the previous three seasons on non-obligatory task. Most gamers can solely be optioned to the minors in three separate seasons. MLB generally grants groups a fourth possibility for gamers who’ve lower than 5 full seasons on a minor league or MLB roster.
Valera, who didn’t play a full season at an affiliate till 2021, may very well be a candidate for a fourth possibility. That’d afford the Cleveland entrance workplace an additional 12 months of flexibility. If Valera is out of choices going into subsequent season, Cleveland would wish to hold him within the majors or make him out there to different groups as soon as he is able to return from the injured record.
