Breyvic Valera Explained

Breyvic Valera
Team:Free agent
Position:Second baseman
Birth Date:8 January 1992
Birth Place:Montalbán, Venezuela
Bats:Switch
Throws:Right
Debutleague:MLB
Debutdate:September 5
Debutyear:2017
Debutteam:St. Louis Cardinals
Debut2league:NPB
Debut2date:March 29
Debut2year:2022
Debut2team:Orix Buffaloes
Statyear:2021 season
Statleague:MLB
Stat1label:Batting average
Stat1value:.236
Stat2label:Home runs
Stat2value:2
Stat3label:Runs batted in
Stat3value:29
Stat2year:2022 season
Stat2league:NPB
Stat21label:Batting average
Stat21value:.205
Stat22label:Home runs
Stat22value:1
Stat23label:Runs batted in
Stat23value:6
Teams:
Awards:

Breyvic José Valera Henríquez (born January 8, 1992) is a Venezuelan professional baseball second baseman who is a free agent. He has previously played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the St. Louis Cardinals, Los Angeles Dodgers, Baltimore Orioles, New York Yankees, and Toronto Blue Jays, and in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) for the Orix Buffaloes.

Career

St. Louis Cardinals

Valera signed with the St. Louis Cardinals as an international free agent in May 2010.[1] He made his professional debut with the Venezuelan Summer League Cardinals. He started 2014 with the Palm Beach Cardinals and was promoted to the Double-A Springfield Cardinals during the following season.[2] Valera began 2016 with the Springfield Cardinals and was then promoted to the Memphis Redbirds, where he batted a combined .304 between both teams.[3]

The Cardinals added Valera to their 40-man roster after the 2016 season.[4]

On September 5, 2017 the St. Louis Cardinals recalled Valera from the Triple-A Memphis Redbirds, and he made his major league debut the same night against the San Diego Padres starting at second base, batting 7th in the lineup. His first MLB hit, a single, came on September 7, 2017, against the San Diego Padres.

Valera was designated for assignment on March 28, 2018.[5]

Los Angeles Dodgers

On April 1, 2018, the Dodgers acquired Valera from the Cardinals in exchange for Johan Mieses.[6] After beginning the season with the Triple-A Oklahoma City Dodgers, he was recalled to the majors on April 15.[7]

Baltimore Orioles

The Dodgers traded Valera, along with Yusniel Diaz, Dean Kremer, Rylan Bannon, and Zach Pop, to the Baltimore Orioles for Manny Machado on July 18, 2018.[8] Valera appeared in 12 games with the Orioles and went 10-for-35 with a triple and four runs batted in before fracturing his left index finger in a 6 - 3 win at Yankee Stadium on September 23.[9] He was designated for assignment on January 4, 2019, when the Orioles claimed Austin Brice off waivers.[10]

San Francisco Giants

The Orioles traded Valera to the San Francisco Giants in a cash transaction on January 5, 2019.[9] Valera was designated for assignment on May 5, 2019, following the acquisition of Andrew Moore.

New York Yankees

On May 12, 2019, the New York Yankees claimed Valera off of waivers. They assigned him to the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders, and promoted him to the major leagues on July 7.[11] On July 7, 2019, Valera made his Yankee debut and picked up a base hit in his first at-bat in a 2-1 loss to the Tampa Bay Rays. [12] He played in 12 games for the Yankees going 7 for 32.

Toronto Blue Jays

On September 20, 2019, Valera was claimed off waivers by the Toronto Blue Jays.[13] In his fifth game with the Blue Jays, on September 29, Valera hit his first career Major League home run off of Yonny Chirinos in an 8-3 victory over the Tampa Bay Rays at Rogers Centre in Toronto. Valera was designated for assignment on February 8, 2020.[14]

On February 12, 2020, he was claimed off of waivers by the San Diego Padres from the Blue Jays. On July 2, he was re-claimed off waivers by Blue Jays from the Padres. On July 21, 2020, the Blue Jays placed Valera on the restricted list, when he had difficulty leaving his native Venezuela. [15] On February 28, 2021, Valera was activated off of the restricted list.[16] On April 1, 2021, Valera was designated for assignment by Toronto.[17] On April 4, Valera was outrighted to the alternate training site.[17] He was assigned to the Triple-A Buffalo Bisons to begin the year. On July 18, Valera was selected to the active roster.[18] Valera played in 39 games for the Blue Jays, hitting .253 with one home run and 15 RBIs. On December 1, Valera was released by the Blue Jays.[19]

Orix Buffaloes

On December 17, 2021, Valera signed with the Orix Buffaloes of Nippon Professional Baseball.[20] In 37 games for Orix in 2022, he batted .205/.294/.277 with one home run and six RBI.[21] Valera became a free agent after the 2022 season.

Toros de Tijuana

On November 6, 2023, Valera signed with the Toros de Tijuana of the Mexican League.[22] In 18 games for the Toros, Valera hit .194/.297/.258 with two RBI and one stolen base.

Pericos de Puebla

On June 12, 2024, Valera was traded to the Pericos de Puebla of the Mexican League.[23] However he was released the following day without appearing in a game.[24]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Goold: Infielder Valera handles challenge. Lee Enterprises. stltoday.com. 24 June 2012 . April 27, 2015.
  2. Web site: New guy Valera back in Double-A for Cardinals. Kary Booher, News-Leader. June 26, 2014. Springfield News-Leader. April 27, 2015.
  3. Web site: Breyvic Valera Stats, Highlights, Bio - MiLB.com Stats - The Official Site of Minor League Baseball. September 26, 2016.
  4. Web site: Cardinals make move with Moss official, continue shaping roster. Derrick. Goold. 8 November 2016 . November 19, 2016.
  5. Web site: Cardinals Release Official 2018 Opening Day Roster. KMOX-AM. March 28, 2018.
  6. Web site: Dodgers trade OF Mieses to Cards for Valera. Thornburg. Chad. MLB.com. April 1, 2018. April 1, 2018.
  7. Web site: Dodgers Place Logan Forsythe On DL. Connor. Byrne. MLB Trade Rumors. April 15, 2018. April 15, 2018.
  8. Web site: Dodgers complete Machado trade with Orioles. Ken. Gurnick. mlb.com. July 18, 2018. July 18, 2018.
  9. http://www.masnsports.com/school-of-roch/2019/01/orioles-trade-breyvic-valera-to-giants.html Kubatko, Roch. "Orioles trade Breyvic Valera to Giants," Mid-Atlantic Sports Network (MASN), Saturday, January 5, 2019.
  10. http://www.masnsports.com/school-of-roch/2019/01/orioles-claim-austin-brice-off-waivers-and-dfa-breyvic-valera.html Kubatko, Roch. "Orioles claim Austin Brice off waivers and DFA Breyvic Valera," Mid-Atlantic Sports Network (MASN), Friday, January 4, 2019.
  11. Web site: Infielder Breyvic Valera called up by Yankees, gets start at 2nd base | What it means. July 7, 2019. nj.
  12. Web site: Valera makes mental error, then singles in Yankees debut. 8 July 2019 .
  13. Web site: Blue Jays Claim Breyvic Valera, Designate Ryan Dull. MLB Trade Rumors. 20 September 2019 .
  14. Web site: Toronto Blue Jays on Twitter. Twitter. February 8, 2020. February 8, 2020.
  15. Web site: Blue Jays Place Breyvic Valera On Restricted List. Connor Byrne. MLB Trade Rumors. 21 July 2020 . July 27, 2020.
  16. Web site: Minor MLB Transactions: 2/28/21. MLB Trade Rumors. 28 February 2021 .
  17. Web site: Blue Jays Outright Reese McGuire, Breyvic Valera. MLB Trade Rumors. 4 April 2021 .
  18. Web site: Blue Jays Select Breyvic Valera. MLB Trade Rumors. 18 July 2021 .
  19. News: Blue Jays Release Breyvic Valera . Polishuk. Mark. December 1, 2021. December 1, 2021. MLB Trade Rumors.
  20. News: NPB's Orix Buffaloes Sign Breyvic Valera, Jesse Biddle, Jacob Waguespack. Adams. Steve. December 17, 2021. December 17, 2021. MLB Trade Rumors.
  21. Web site: Breyvic Valera - Baseball Stats. May 21, 2024. thebaseballcube.com. en.
  22. Web site: LLEGARÁ REFUERZO DE GRANDES LIGAS. torosdetijuana.com. ES. April 10, 2024.
  23. Web site: LMB: Movimientos en listas de reserva - 12 de junio de 2024. June 13, 2024. milb.com. en.
  24. https://www.milb.com/player/breyvic-valera-591971