Outfielder George Valera has cleared waivers, according to MLB.com’s Tim Stebbins. The Guardians designated Valera for assignment earlier this week, and since Valera isn’t eligible to decline an outright assignment, he’ll now be removed from Cleveland’s 40-man roster and outrighted to Triple-A Columbus.
Valera made his MLB debut last season and hit .220/.333/.415 over his first 48 plate appearances in the majors. He began this season on the Guards’ 10-day injured list due to a minor calf strain, and Valera didn’t look great once being activated, hitting just .216/.237/.297 over 38 PA before he was sent down to the minors. The Guardians have yet to recall Valera, and they’ll need to take the extra step of adding him back to the 40-man roster should the club give him another look in the Show.
With a respectable .276/.367/.417 slash line to show for 150 PA in Columbus this year, it isn’t as if Valera’s play has fallen off the map entirely. The Guards’ outfield picture remains inconsistent enough that Valera might well get called up again if he can heat up at the Triple-A level.
Still, this is now the second time that the Guardians has DFA’ed Valera (he was non-tendered after the 2024 season before re-signing with Cleveland) without any other teams even taking a flier on the former top prospect, which is a sign of how his stock has fallen. No mention of Valera is complete without noting the many injuries that put his career on hold during his time in Cleveland’s farm system. Since beginning his pro career in 2018, Valera has played in only 524 minor league games plus 29 games in the majors.
