Guardians add to outfield depth after George Valera surprisingly clears waivers

At this time last season, George Valera was stuck in Triple-A after being outrighted off Cleveland’s 40-man roster following the 2024 season. 

While that was a bit of a fall from grace for a guy who was once ranked as the Guardians’ top prospects, he put his head down and put in the necessary work in the minors and ended up earning an end-of-the-season call-up that led to him mashing a go-ahead home run in the postseason. 

Now we’re back in that same spot, as the Guardians designated Valera for assignment last week and re-added him to their Triple-A roster this week.

George Valera could still be in Guardians' plans after being outrighted off roster

Although Valera hasn’t appeared in a game at Triple-A since being outrighted by the Guardians, he had some success there earlier in the year. In total, he posted a .276/.367/.417 slashline in 35 games at Triple-A since being demoted at the end of April. 

That demotion happened because he went just 8-for-37 (.216 batting average) in 13 games with the Guardians after missing the first two weeks of the season with a left calf strain. 

Even though Valera’s performance with the Guardians this year left a lot to be desired, this may not be the end of his time with the club thanks to the uncertainty in the Guardians’ outfield. 

The Guardians enter play today having used 11 players in the outfield, ranging from Steven Kwan’s team-leading 71 appearances to Rhys Hoskins' “please don’t hit it to me” appearance in left when half the roster got injured against the Tigers. 

While some of that outfield instability could be fixed later this week if Chase DeLauter returns from the injured list, by no means are they settled. 

After all, the Guardians opened their game against the White Sox with an outfield alignment of David Fry, Stuart Fairchild and Petey Halpin. 

Even if Halpin is sent down when DeLauter makes his return, Fairchild’s hit just .167 in his limited action and is out of options, which is perhaps the clearest path for an open 40-man roster spot. 

But just because there’s not an avenue for him doesn’t mean there won’t be one later in the season. The Guardians have shown a willingness in recent years to call players up just for the stretch run/postseason (Will Brennan in 2022, Valera last season), so Valera could work his way into the outfield picture again later this year if he tears the cover off the ball in Triple-A. 

Valera’s path also got a little easier earlier this month when the Guardians traded Nolan Jones (who was also in Triple-A but not on the 40-man roster) to the White Sox. 

Perhaps the more interesting thing about Valera staying in Columbus is that he went unclaimed on waivers for the second time in 20 months. Even if he isn’t the same player he was before he suffered his variety of injuries, he’s still a talented player. 

But that lack of movement from the rest of MLB could end up working in the Guardians favor if Valera ends up working his way back onto their roster. 

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