George Valera Injury News & Updates

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.

Valera, who has had an injury-plagued season, is active for Triple-A Columbus and hitting .136 with one extra-base hit, 10 walks and 13 strikeouts through 13 games.

He has been on the injured list twice, first opening the season on the IL with a wrist injury and then suffering a hamstring injury in mid-May. Valera was activated from his most recent stint on the IL on June 17 after rehabbing in the Arizona Complex League. He doesn't turn 23 until November, so Valera still has youth on his side, but he has a career .202/.316/.384 slash line with nine home runs in 55 games at Triple-A.

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' rookie-ball 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 time.

Valera (hamstring) was placed on Triple-A Columbus' 7-day injured list Sunday.

Valera missed six weeks to start the season while recovering from wrist surgery. He was healthy for a little more than a week before sustaining a new injury, though he hit just .188 with a stolen base and two RBI over five contests in that span. The outfield prospect struggled a bit in his first taste of Triple-A last year, and injury issues have slowed him down in 2023. He's still just 22 years old, so there's little reason for long-term panic.

Valera (wrist) was activated off the injured list Thursday at Triple-A Columbus, Sam Dykstra of MiLB.com reports.

Valera missed the first six weeks of the Triple-A season due to lingering issues with his surgically-repaired right hand/wrist, but he's in the clear now to continue his ascent through the Guardians' system. The 22-year-old outfielder posted an .816 OPS with 24 home runs in 132 games last summer between Double-A and Triple-A. If his health cooperates, he could make his MLB debut at some point in 2023.

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.

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 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.

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, but obviously the Guardians will be cautious.

Guardians manager Terry Francona told reporters that Valera (wrist) could undergo imaging in the coming days, Zack Meisel of The Athletic reports.

As Francona notes, the injured wrist is the same hand that required surgery for a broken hamate bone, and it's unknown if that's affecting it. Valera left Tuesday's game against the Royals after fouling a baseball off the wrist area, and the team will give one of their top prospects a few days off before deciding the next steps. If healthy, Valera has a chance to receive playing time in the Guardians' outfield in 2023.

Valera had to leave Tuesday's game against the Royals with a right hand injury, 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 hand/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. The Guardians should have more information soon.

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.

Valera recently underwent surgery for a broken hamate bone in his right hand, reports Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer.

The expectation is that he will still be in recovery mode when Guardians camp gets underway in Arizona next month. This type of surgery usually requires around two full months of rest and rehab. Valera, the top position-player prospect in Cleveland's system, slashed .250/.353/.463 with 24 home runs and 82 RBI in 132 games last season between Double-A Akron and Triple-A Columbus. If his health cooperates, he could make his MLB debut at some point in 2023.

Valera batted .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 -- he hit .250/.353/.463 with 24 homers in 132 games -- but his fairly high strikeout rate and inability to hit for average in the minors combine to 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 average an outlier -- and it's also worth remembering that this was his age-21 campaign, so just 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. Valera 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.

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.

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.

Valera is batting just .229/.372/.352 with two homers and a 23:33 BB:K through 31 games for Double-A Akron this year.

It's nice that he's drawing walks at a healthy 18 percent clip, but that's about the only positive to be found in Valera's batting line. He hasn't homered since April 19, he hasn't put together a hitting streak longer than three games, and he hasn't collected a single stolen base. It could be that Cleveland was simply too aggressive in moving him up to Double-A last year, as he didn't do a whole lot then either (.747 OPS in 23 games). At just 21, he's still one of the younger players at that level. There's still a lot to like about Valera, but this first month-plus has done a lot to kill any notion that he might be on the fast track to the big leagues.

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, the rest of the way.

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.

Valera was promoted to Double-A Akron on Monday.

He got off to a slow start this year with High-A Lake County and then landed on the injured list with an oblique injury. However, since returning June 8, Valera hit .259/.440/.575 with 16 home runs, seven steals and a 50:50 K:BB in 55 games. He clearly needed a challenge, and this could set the stage for him to also get sent to the Arizona Fall League after the season.

Valera (oblique) was activated off the minor-league injured list Tuesday.

Valera got into just seven games this season before suffering a right oblique strain. He struggled to a .182/.296/.273 line in those games, but that's far too small of a sample to draw much of a conclusion from. He did at least manage to steal three bases.

Valera has been placed on the injured list with a left forearm injury.

The severity of the injury isn't known at this point, but Valera will be held out of action for at least the next seven days.