Guardians bring back once highly regarded prospect on minor league deal

It was a short time of separation, but outfielder George Valera is back with the Cleveland Guardians organization. Signing a minor league deal with an invite to Spring Training, Valera returns to the Guardians in an attempt to get his career back on track.

Valera elected free agency following the Guardians' decision to designate him for assignment last week. Cleveland found themselves in a position where they needed spots on the 40-man roster to protect players from being selected in the Rule-5 Draft, with Valera becoming a roster casualty along the way. As a free agent, Valera could have signed with any team in baseball but chose to come back to Cleveland, and considering he is working his way back from undergoing knee surgery, being in a familiar place during the recovery process would certainly be preferable.

It was not that long ago that many assumed that Valera would be an everyday fixture in the Guardians' lineup. With an impressive couple of years in the lower levels of the minor leagues, Valera was looking exactly like what the outfield in Cleveland needed. Unfortunately for both parties, Valera's once-promising rate of progress came to a screeching halt.

The combination of injuries and experiencing difficulty adjusting to the elevated talent level faced saw his production drop upon reaching Triple-A. Valera's numbers cratered across the board, as he was clearly overmatched in Columbus, with the injuries sustained along the way making it a bit more difficult to find stability.

2024 was Valera's best in his time with the Clippers, slashing .248.337/.452 with 17 home runs and 15 doubles in 90 games. The two areas of concern that have been recurring themes throughout Valera's career were present in 2024, strikeouts and injuries. Valera missed both ends of the season with injuries, and when he did play, he struck out 27% of the time. Valera did have a 12% walk rate and did see his power output return last season, and if that continues at the next level, it could be the productive outfield bat to pair with Steven Kwan that the Guardians have been looking for. But there is still a little ways to go before even imagining that scenario actually playing out.