The Los Angeles Dodgers acquired infielder Breyvic Valera in a trade with the St. Louis Cardinals in exchange for outfielder Johan Mieses. With Valera being added to the mix, the Dodgers now have a full 40-man roster once again.
Valera is a 26-year-old switch-hitter out of Venezuela who was recently designated for assignment by the Cardinals. His only Major League experience came last year with St. Louis when he appeared in five games, going 1-for-10 with a walk.
In eight Minor League seasons he’s a lifetime .303/.359/.386 hitter, while belting 13 home runs and driving in 304 runs.
Valera spent most of the 2017 season with Triple-A Memphis, where he hit .314/.368/.450 with eight home runs, 41 RBI and stole 11 bases in 117 games. He appeared in 17 games for the Cardinals this spring but went just 4-for-25 (.160 batting average).
Immediately after being acquired, Valera was optioned to Triple-A Oklahoma City, where he will likely spend most of the season providing organizational infield depth.
Mieses is a 22-year-old outfielder that the Dodgers signed out of the Dominican Republic. In five Minor League seasons he has hit .247/.315/.466 with 68 home runs and 207 RBI in 411 games.
Mieses split his time between High-A Rancho Cucamonga and Double-A Tulsa in 2017, where he batted a combined .215/.293/.449 with 24 home runs and 63 RBI. The power is clearly there with Mieses, although his strikeout rate is extremely high as he struck out 154 times in 458 plate appearances.
The Dodgers had a 40-man roster spot open after they designated outfielder Trayce Thompson for assignment and claimed pitcher Cory Mazzoni from the Chicago Cubs. But Mazzoni found himself back with the Cubs as they re-claimed him off waivers.
