Thursday's Triple-A game between the Columbus Clippers and Nashville Sounds produced quite a bit of firework when Clippers outfielder George Valera, who is the No. 2 prospect in the Cleveland Guardians farm system, got involved in an altercation with Sounds catcher Alex Jackson in the third inning, which led to a benches-clearing incident.
While standing in the batter's box, Valera began yelling at Jackson after taking exception to something that Jackson said. Home plate umpire Tanner Moore tried to diffuse the situation by getting in between Valera and Jackson. However, Valera ended up putting his finger in Jackson's mask. That's when Valera shoved Moore out of the way in order to get closer to Jackson.
This was the altercation pic.twitter.com/9TrTWbWoAo
— Brendan Walsh (@Cle_Brendan52) July 7, 2023
Valera threw a punch at Jackson, which resulted in the benches clearing. Both Jackson and Valera were ejected from the game as a result of their actions.
Valera has appeared in just 20 games with the Clippers during the 2023 season as a result of injury. During that time, he's hitting just .176 with zero home runs and just eight RBIs despite being labeled as a power hitter.
Valera signed with the Guardians as an international free agent back in 2017. After spending the past five years in Cleveland's farm system, it was expected that Valera would've made it to the big league level by now, but that's yet to come to fruition.
