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Breyvic Valera

Blue Jays Claim Breyvic Valera, Add Three Others To 60-Man Pool

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The Blue Jays have claimed infielder Breyvic Valera off waivers from the Padres, per an announcement from both teams. In addition to Valera, the Jays announced that they’ve added right-hander Bryan Baker, outfielder Josh Palacios and infielder/outfielder Patrick Kivlehan to their 60-man player pool.

Valera, 28, was carried on the Blue Jays’ roster for most of the offseason but was lost to the Padres on a waiver claim back in February. He spent time with both the Jays and Yankees in 2019, though he appeared in just 17 games and took just 52 plate appearances. Overall, Valera has appeared in the Majors with five teams but played in just 54 games, hitting .223/.294/.298 in 138 trips to the plate.

Lack of MLB track record aside, the switch-hitting Valera is the owner of a .302/.374/.442 slash in 1550 plate appearances at the Triple-A level. Coupled with his defensive versatility –he’s played second base, third base and all three outfield positions — it’s easy to see why so many clubs have been intrigued by his skill set and taken brief looks at him. He’s out of minor league options, though, so the Jays will have to either carry him on the roster to open the season or else once again place him on waivers.

Turning to the three players added to the 60-man pool today, it’s feasible that any of the bunch could emerge as an MLB option. Kivlehan, 30, has logged 132 games in the Majors and tallied 242 plate appearances — albeit with a lackluster .208/.302/.401 slash in that time. Palacios, 25 later this month, spent the 2019 season in Double-A and turned in a .266/.371/.416 slash in a very pitcher-friendly setting. The 25-year-old Baker split last season between the Jays’ Double-A and Triple-A affiliates, pitching to a 3.17 ERA with 11.8 K/9 in 54 innings. Baker, however, also averaged six walks per nine frames and piled up 10 wild pitches, illustrating that control is an issue for him.

Toronto originally announced a player pool with 58 names, so the addition of these four will put them over the limit. However, as Sportsnet’s Shi Davidi tweets, a team can exceed 60 players if exceptions need to be made due to positive COVID-19 tests. It’s likely, then, that the Jays either have had additional positives in the organization that will remove some players from the 60-man pool or that additional transactions are coming today. Notably, the MLB.com transactions page does list Brandon Drury, Elvis Luciano, Hector Perez and Jonathan Davis as players to have been recently placed on the 10-day injured list with no reason given, though it’s not clear there’s any correlation to today’s moves.

Padres Claim Breyvic Valera

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The Padres announced Wednesday that they’ve claimed infielder/outfielder Breyvic Valera off waivers from the Blue Jays. In order to open a spot on the 40-man roster, San Diego has placed right-hander Anderson Espinoza on the 60-day injured list. Espinoza underwent Tommy John surgery late last April.

Valera, 28, was designated for assignment earlier this week when Toronto finalized its one-year deal with reliever Rafael Dolis. Valera spent time with both the Jays and Yankees in 2019, though he appeared in just 17 games and took just 52 plate appearances. Overall, Valera has appeared in the Majors with five teams but played in just 54 games, hitting .223/.294/.298 in 138 trips to the plate.

Lack of MLB track record aside, the switch-hitting Valera is the owner of a .302/.374/.442 slash in 1550 plate appearances at the Triple-A level. Coupled with his defensive versatility –he’s played second base, third base and all three outfield positions — it’s easy to see why so many clubs have been intrigued by his skill set and taken brief looks at him. At this point, however, Valera has exhausted all three of his minor league option years, meaning he’ll need to break camp with the Padres (or another club) or else be traded or placed on waivers once again.

Blue Jays Designate Breyvic Valera For Assignment

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The Blue Jays have designated infielder Breyvic Valera for assignment, as per a team announcement.  The move creates a roster spot for right-hander Rafael Dolis, whose one-year deal (with a club option) with the Jays became official yesterday.

Valera appeared in five games for Toronto in late September, after the Jays plucked him off the Yankees’ roster via a waiver claim.  With such veterans as Joe Panik and Ruben Tejada already lined up as utility infield options in Spring Training camp, Valera was likely deemed expendable.  Should another team claim Valera during his latest trip through the DFA process, it will mark the sixth time in less than two years that Valera has switched uniforms.

Over 54 career Major League games since the start of the 2017 season, Valera has already played for five different teams — the Blue Jays, Yankees, Orioles, Dodgers, and Cardinals, who originally signed him back in 2010.  (Valera also had a brief stint in the Giants’ farm system last season.)  The best-known of those transactions, by far, is Valera’s inclusion as part of the trade package sent from the Dodgers to Baltimore for Manny Machado in July 2018, though Valera was something of a throw-in rather than a key factor in the deal.

The 28-year-old Valera has only a .592 OPS over 138 plate appearances in the big leagues, but he has performed reasonably well at the minor league level, hitting .299/.360/.397 over 4099 PA.  Valera has mostly worked as a second baseman, though since his best path to the Show is as a utility player, he also has quite a bit of experience around the diamond at every position besides catcher and pitcher.

Blue Jays Claim Breyvic Valera, Designate Ryan Dull

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The Blue Jays announced that they’ve claimed infielder Breyvic Valera off waivers from the Yankees and, to create room on the 40-man roster, designated right-hander Ryan Dull for assignment. Toronto claimed Dull himself off waivers from the Yankees just two days ago. He’d yet to pitch in a game for the Jays.

The Yankees claimed Valera, 27, off waivers from the Giants back in May. He appeared in a dozen games for New York and hit .219/.324/.313 in a small sample of 37 plate appearances. The well-traveled Valera has appeared with four different big league teams in the past three seasons, having also spent time with the Orioles, Dodgers and Cardinals in addition to his minor league time with the Giants organization. He was one of the five players the Dodgers sent to Baltimore in last summer’s Manny Machado blockbuster, though it was clear even at the time that Valera wasn’t considered a vital piece for that trade, in which outfield prospect Yusniel Diaz was the headliner.

Dull, 29, has bounced from the A’s, to the Giants, to the Yankees and the Blue Jays via waivers in the past six weeks alone. The righty hasn’t had success in the Majors or in Triple-A this season, but he’s only a few seasons removed from looking like a quality bullpen piece in Oakland. While Dull has been tagged for 17 earned runs through just 11 1/3 innings in the big leagues this year and also has a 5.29 ERA across three Triple-A affiliates, he was one of Oakland’s best relievers back in 2016. That year, he tossed 74 1/3 innings of 2.42 ERA ball with nearly a strikeout per frame and just 1.8 BB/9. He’s since been hampered by shoulder and knee problems, but Dull has some MLB success and a minor league option remaining, so he could still land elsewhere via yet another waiver claim. If not, he’ll be able to elect free agency at season’s end.

Yankees Activate Luis Severino, Designate Breyvic Valera

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The Yankees announced Tuesday that they’ve reinstated Luis Severino from the 60-day injured list. In order to open a spot on the 40-man roster, New York has designated infielder Breyvic Valera for assignment.

Severino’s return to the rotation tonight will be a boon for a Yankees club that has seen its starters struggle immensely in the season’s second half. If Severino is able to quickly round back into form, he’ll surely play a prominent role in the team’s postseason pitching plans. The 25-year-old righty, who signed a four-year, $40MM contract extension in the offseason, has yet to pitch this season due to shoulder and lat injuries but gave the Yankees 384 2/3 innings of 3.18 ERA ball (3.01 FIP) with 10.5 K/9 against 2.3 BB/9 from 2017-18.

The 27-year-old Valera, claimed off waivers from the Giants earlier this season, appeared in a dozen games for the Yankees and hit .219/.324/.313 in 37 plate appearances. He’s appeared with four different big league teams in the past three seasons, having also spent time with the Orioles, Dodgers and Cardinals. (Valera never played in the Majors with the Giants.) Los Angeles sent him to Baltimore in last summer’s Manny Machado swap, though it was clear at the time of the deal that he wasn’t as well regarded as the younger players sent to the O’s in that trade.

In parts of four Triple-A seasons, Valera has a .302/.374/.442 batting line. He’s spent the bulk of his career in the minors at second base but also has 1434 innings at shortstop, 823 innings at third base, 932 innings in left field, 303 innings in right field and 68 innings in center under his belt. Valera will be out of minor league options next season, so any club that claims him would either have to include him on 2020’s Opening Day roster or attempt to pass him through waivers themselves.

Yankees Select Brady Lail And Joe Mantiply, Transfer Stanton To 60-Day IL

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9:53 am: Tarpley is set to undergo an MRI on his balky elbow, tweets Bryan Hoch of MLB.com.

9:15 am: The Yankees announced a correction to Tarpley’s injury. He suffered a left elbow impingement, not a shoulder impingement as previously reported.

7:46 am: The Yankees announced today they have selected the contracts of relievers Joe Mantiply and Brady Lail. To create 40-man roster space, the club has transferred Giancarlo Stanton to the 60-day injured list. Infielder Breyvic Valera was optioned to Triple-A Scranton Wilkes-Barre, while left-hander Stephen Tarpley was placed on the 10-day injured list with a left shoulder impingement, opening up active roster spots.

New York just acquired Mantiply from the Reds on Friday. While the acquisition was swung after the hard July 31 deadline, Mantiply was still eligible to be traded because he initially signed a minor-league contract with Cincinnati. The left-hander threw a solid 29 innings in a long relief role for the Reds’ Triple-A affiliate before the trade and will get his second big league crack, having previously pitched five games for the Tigers in 2016.

It’ll be the first MLB go-round for Lail, who turned 26 on Friday. The Yankees’ 18th-round pick out of high school in 2012, Lail hasn’t been among the club’s top 30 farmhands since 2015, per Baseball America, and he went unselected in the Rule V draft last offseason. That said, Lail pitched to a 1.93 ERA with a 36.9% strikeout rate in Double-A this season. Like Manitply, he’s worked multiple innings in the minors and gives the club some long relief depth.

Stanton’s transfer to the 60-day IL is more of a formality than an indicator of any new health problems. He was already known to be out until September, and because his initial 10-day IL placement occurred June 26, he’ll be eligible to return August 26. With a commanding lead in the AL East and stunning production from their fill-in options, the club will surely be cautious with the star slugger.

The club didn’t announce a timetable for Tarpley’s return. The 26 year-old has served as optionable bullpen depth himself this season, pitching dreadfully in the majors- to an 8.24 ERA- but putting up solid results in Scranton. As James Wagner of the New York Times notes, he becomes the 27th different pinstriped player to hit the IL this season, making the club’s 76-41 record all the more remarkable.

Valera, a May waiver claim most notable for his defensive abilities in the infield, has been used sparingly at the big league level this season, but has raked in Triple-A. He’s hitting .328/.402/.532 with more walks than strikeouts for the RailRiders. He’s also bounced around in trade over the past few years, indicating multiple teams view him as a quality depth piece.

Yankees Place Luke Voit On IL

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The Yankees announced today that they have placed first baseman Luke Voit on the 10-day injured list. He’ said to be dealing with a sports hernia.

Also hitting the IL is righty David Hale, who is said to be dealing with a lumbar spine strain. To take their roster spots, the club has recalled righty Jonathan Holder and infielder Breyvic Valera.

Core muscle issues of the sort Voit is dealing with can be quite problematic. Voit’s timeline isn’t yet clear, but a surgical procedure — which would come with a six-week rehab timeline — is on the table, according to skipper Aaron Boone. (Via MLB.com’s Bryan Hoch, on Twitter.)

Whether or not the club will consider a replacement piece isn’t clear. Internal options at first base include Edwin Encarnacion and Mike Ford. Encarnacion played first earlier this year in Seattle and has seen eight games there in New York, but has mostly served as a DH with the Yanks. It’s at least conceivable that uncertainty surrounding Voit could impact the Yanks’ willingness to move Clint Frazier, who’d be a candidate to serve as a DH and part-time outfielder if Encarnacion is deployed at first.

On the pitching side, losing Hale mostly just dents the depth. But the Yanks are also dealing with some rotation uncertainty. CC Sabathia is expected to be sidelined for a few weeks after a “lubrication shot” in his balky knee, James Wagner of the New York Times tweets. The club obviously has room to improve in the pitching department quite apart from those losses, but they do help add impetus to the task.

Yankees Claim Breyvic Valera

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The Yankees have claimed infielder Breyvic Valera off waivers from the Giants, according to The Athletic’s Andrew Baggarly. He will report to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre for his new club. To make room for Valera, the Yankees have transferred first baseman Greg Bird to the 60-day IL, adds James Wagner of The New York Times.

Valera, 27, was designated for assignment by the Giants not long after he was acquired from the Orioles. The Yankees will mark his fifth club since 2017, having spent time with the Cardinals, Dodgers, Orioles, and Giants over the last three seasons. He has amassed just 86 MLB plate appearances owing to a lack of opportunities, though Valera is the owner of an impressive BB:K ratio in his minor league career.

Valera will join a Yankees infield that has been hit hard by injuries early in the season, though the emergence of Gio Urshela and Miguel Andujar’s return to Yanks’ lineup will likely limit Valera’s opportunities to receive playing time. For the time being, he slots into a organizational depth role behind the likes of Tyler Wade and Thairo Estrada.

Giants Claim Andrew Moore, Designate Breyvic Valera

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The Giants have claimed right-hander Andrew Moore off waivers from the Rays, according to Andrew Baggarly of The Athletic (Twitter link).  Moore will report to San Francisco’s Double-A affiliate in Richmond.  To create a 40-man roster spot for Moore, the Giants have also designated infielder Breyvic Valera for assignment.

Valera’s stint on the Giants’ 40-man roster has come to an end before he appeared in a game with the team, which acquired Valera in January when he was designated by the Orioles. In 24 games at Triple-A this season, Valera has posted a .257/.397/.338 slash line, including an impressive 16-to-10 BB:K ratio. The 27-year-old Valera has made only 86 MLB plate appearances and has produced a .529 OPS across parts of the last two seasons, which he spent with the Cardinals, Dodgers, and Orioles.

Moore has appeared in only 11 games in the Major Leagues — nine starts with the Mariners in 2017 — posting a 5.34 ERA in those games. Triple-A has not treated him well this season, as Moore has conceded 9 home runs in 17 1/3 innings while walking as many batters as he has struck out. Moore, a former second-round selection of the Mariners, was recently DFA’d by the Rays, but will hope to make a home in San Francisco. He is just 24 years old and is not far removed from successful seasons in the minors in 2016 and 2017.

Giants Acquire Breyvic Valera

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The Giants have acquired infielder/outfielder Breyvic Valera from the Orioles for cash considerations, per announcements from both teams. Valera’s addition puts the Giants’ 40-man roster at 39.

The Orioles designated the 26-year-old Valera for assignment Friday, though his stay in limbo didn’t last long. He’ll now reunite with Giants president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi, who was the Dodgers’ general manager when they acquired Valera from the Cardinals last April. The Dodgers then dealt Valera to the Orioles last July in a package for superstar Manny Machado.

The switch-hitting Valera didn’t accrue much playing time with St. Louis, Los Angeles or Baltimore, as he totaled 86 plate appearances and batted .216/.286/.243 with no home runs. But Valera has acquitted himself well at the Triple-A level, where he has slashed .301/.368/.427 with 17 long balls in 1,110 PAs, and has garnered notable minor league playing time at second, short, third and in the outfield. Now Valera – who has a minor league option remaining – could vie for a utility role in San Francisco, which is low on infield/outfield depth in the bigs.

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