Guardians outfield prospect George Valera is set to undergo season-ending surgery, according to MLB.com’s Mandy Bell. The 23-year-old injured his right knee, suffering a ruptured patellar tendon while attempting to catch a ball at the wall in Triple-A.
The surgery requires a recovery period of six to nine months, making it likely that Valera will begin the next season on the injured list.
Valera’s value has diminished due to injuries. The left-handed hitter appeared in the latter part of Baseball America’s top 100 prospect lists in both 2022 and 2023.
After having hamate surgery in the 2022-23 offseason, he has had intermittent injured list stints due to hamstring issues over the past few years. He managed to stay healthy from early May to mid-September this year, spending the entire period on optional assignment with Triple-A Columbus.
Valera performed well in Double-A, but his Triple-A statistics are more average. Over 205 games at the level, he has a career batting line of .229/.336/.424, including a .248/.337/.452 line with 17 home runs in 374 plate appearances this year.
Despite a solid 12% walk rate, he strikes out at a high 27% rate. Initially a center fielder, Valera has mostly played in the corners or as a designated hitter this year, with only nine innings in center field.
Cleveland has included Valera on the 40-man roster since the 2021-22 offseason, and he has been on optional assignment for the past three seasons.
Typically, players can only be optioned to the minors in three separate seasons, though MLB sometimes grants a fourth option for players with fewer than five full seasons on minor league or MLB rosters.
Since Valera didn’t complete a full season at an affiliate until 2021, he could be eligible for a fourth option, providing the Cleveland front office with an additional year of flexibility.
If Valera exhausts his options by the start of next season, the Guardians will need to either keep him in the majors or expose him to other teams once he is ready to return from injury.
