Guardians outfield prospect George Valera is headed for season-ending surgery, tweets Mandy Bell of MLB.com. The 23-year-old sustained a ruptured patellar tendon in his right knee while trying to make a catch at the wall in Triple-A. The procedure comes with a six-to-nine month recovery timetable, so it’s likely Valera will open next season on the injured list.
Injuries have sapped some of Valera’s value. The lefty-swinging outfielder appeared at the back half of Baseball America’s top 100 prospect lists in both 2022 and ’23. Valera underwent hamate surgery during the 2022-23 offseason and has had brief injured list stints because of hamstring issues in the last couple years. He’d been healthy between the start of May and the middle of September this year, spending the entire time on optional assignment to Triple-A Columbus.
Valera had hit very well through Double-A. His Triple-A numbers are closer to average. He’s a career .229/.336/.424 hitter in 205 games at the level. That includes a .248/.337/.452 line with 17 homers in 374 plate appearances this year. While Valera has a strong 12% walk rate, he has gone down on strikes at a lofty 27% clip. A center fielder early in his career, he has played all but nine innings in the corners or at designated hitter this year.
Cleveland has carried Valera on the 40-man roster going back to the 2021-22 offseason. He has spent the past three seasons on optional assignment. Most players can only be optioned to the minors in three separate seasons. MLB sometimes grants teams a fourth option for players who have less than five full seasons on a minor league or MLB roster.
Valera, who didn’t play a full season at an affiliate until 2021, could be a candidate for a fourth option. That’d afford the Cleveland front office an extra year of flexibility. If Valera is out of options going into next season, Cleveland would need to carry him in the majors or make him available to other teams once he is ready to return from the injured list.
I am sad
He wasn’t a perfect prospect even at peak value, but I firmly believed in the not-too-distant past that if there was one Guardians prospect who could become a superstar, it would have been him. Not too long ago, he looked like a toolsy guy with power who could have handled center or been a long term answer in right. He also plays with the kind of flair and energy that some stars out there have so I might have been a little biased.
Now his best case scenario is probably a strong side platoon bat in a corner outfield spot (his OPS is just under .900 against righties this year but he’s been unplayable against lefties), and he’s had big problems staying healthy for a full season. He seems like someone who could definitely make sense for an extra option year, but he could have used some at bats in the majors a few weeks ago when it felt like the Guardians were getting shut down by right handed starters just about every night.
Guardians should have traded him in 2021 or 2022 at the deadline. Held the bag for too long.
They ALWAYS do.
The good news is that he’s still only 23. He has a lot to still reach his potential or close to it b
He is out of options unless commissioner office gives him extra option for all his injuries.
Valera- Whoa whoa. Valera
Dude can’t catch a break, unless it’s a bad one.