Guardians outfield prospect George Valera is set for season-ending surgery, according to Mandy Bell of MLB.com. The 23-year-old suffered a ruptured patellar tendon in his right knee while attempting a catch at the wall in Triple-A. The surgery has a recovery timeline of six to nine months, meaning Valera is likely to begin next season on the injured list.
Injuries have diminished Valera’s value. He was listed towards the end of Baseball America’s top 100 prospect rankings in both 2022 and 2023. After undergoing hamate surgery during the 2022-23 offseason, he has faced additional setbacks with hamstring issues in recent years. Although he remained healthy from early May to mid-September this year while on optional assignment with Triple-A Columbus, Valera’s performance has been inconsistent.
Valera has shown promise at Double-A but his Triple-A stats are more average. Over 205 games at the Triple-A level, he has a career line of .229/.336/.424, including a .248/.337/.452 performance with 17 home runs in 374 plate appearances this season. Despite a solid 12% walk rate, his strikeout rate is high at 27%. Formerly a center fielder, he has spent most of this season in the corners or as a designated hitter.
Valera has been on Cleveland’s 40-man roster since the 2021-22 offseason and has been on optional assignment for the past three seasons. Typically, players can be optioned to the minors for only three separate seasons, but MLB occasionally grants a fourth option for players with fewer than five full seasons in the minors or MLB.
Since Valera did not play a full season at an affiliate until 2021, he might be eligible for this extra option, which would give Cleveland additional flexibility. If he exhausts his options by next season, the Guardians would need to keep him on the major league roster or make him available to other teams when he returns from injury.
