Utility infielder Breyvic Valera went through quite the journey in 2018, as he played for three different teams. The 26-year-old began the season in the St. Louis Cardinals organization but was traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers on April 1 in exchange for Minor Leaguer Johan Mieses.
He began the season with Triple-A Oklahoma City and was recalled on April 15. Valera made his season debut that night against the Arizona Diamondbacks.
He went back and forth between Oklahoma City and Los Angeles a few times, and in 20 games with the Dodgers, he hit .172/.273/.172 with four runs scored and four RBI. Valera swung the bat much better with Oklahoma City, hitting .284/.350/.433 with six home runs and 23 RBI in 56 games.
Valera’s time in the Dodgers organization was short-lived though as he was traded to the Baltimore Orioles in July along with Yusniel Diaz, Dean Kremer, Rylan Bannon and Zach Pop in the blockbuster deal that sent Manny Machado to Los Angeles.
The Orioles gave Valera a chance to get some valuable big league experience to close out the season, and he took advantage of it by posting a .286/.325/.343 slashline in 12 games.
2018 Highlight:
Valera’s best game with the Dodgers came on June 2 in a 12-4 win over the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field. He got a rare start at second base and ended up going 2-for-5 with both hits driving in runs.
He drove in Joc Pederson with a single in the second inning and then Pederson and Cody Bellinger with another single in the seventh.
2019 Outlook:
Valera will likely head into Spring Training with the Orioles with an opportunity to earn a spot on the Major League roster out of camp.
