Breyvic Valera: Released, heading to foreign league
Rotowire
Valera was released by the Blue Jays on Tuesday in order to pursue an opportunity in a foreign league, Hazel Mae of Sportsnet reports.
Valera appeared in 39 games for Toronto in 2021 and hit .253/.313/.356 with one homer, 15 RBI and 10 runs in 97 plate appearances. It's unclear which league he's moving to, but the 29-year-old won't open 2022 in a major-league system.
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Blue Jays' Breyvic Valera: Filling bench role
Rotowire
Valera remains out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Yankees.
Valera started at third base in his return from the COVID-19 injured list last Thursday, but he'll since retreated to the bench for each of the Blue Jays' subsequent five contests. Santiago Espinal returned from the IL a day after Valera and looks poised to finish the regular season as the Blue Jays' top option at the hot corner.
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Blue Jays' Breyvic Valera: Reinstated from COVID IL
Rotowire
Valera was reinstated from the COVID-related injured list Thursday.
The 29-year-old was placed on the list Wednesday after being identified as a close contact of someone who tested positive. He only ended up missing one contest and will start at third base and bat eighth Thursday. Over his last seven contests, Valera has batted .304 with eight RBI and a stolen base.
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Blue Jays' Breyvic Valera: Goes on COVID IL
Rotowire
The Blue Jays will place Valera on the COVID-19-related injured list Wednesday after he was identified as a close contact of an infected person, Shi Davidi of Sportsnet.ca reports.
According to Davidi, a family member of Valera's contracted the virus, so the Blue Jays wouldn't seem to be at risk of a team-wide outbreak. Valera is fully vaccinated and has been testing negative for the virus, leaving the Blue Jays optimistic that he'll be sidelined for a short period of time. Jake Lamb will serve as Toronto's top third baseman while Valera is away.
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Blue Jays' Breyvic Valera: Sitting after two straight starts
Rotowire
Valera is out of the lineup for Monday's game against the Rays.
After going 2-for-6 with a double, two walks, an RBI and a stolen base while making starts at third base Saturday and Sunday against the Twins, Valera will cede the hot corner to Jake Lamb in the series opener with the Rays. Valera should remain the Blue Jays' top third baseman versus left-handed pitching, but he'll likely split work with Lamb against righties.
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Blue Jays' Breyvic Valera: Retreats to bench after four starts
Rotowire
Valera is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Rays.
Valera started at third base in each of the Blue Jays' last four games, going 5-for-14 with a double and seven RBI. Despite the uptick in work, Valera still looks to be stuck in the short side of a platoon at the hot corner with the lefty-hitting Jake Lamb, who gets the starting nod Wednesday with righty Michael Wacha on the hill for Tampa Bay. Three of Valera's last four starts came against left-handed starting pitchers or primary pitchers.
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Blue Jays' Breyvic Valera: On base four times Monday
Rotowire
Valera went 3-for-3 with a walk and three RBI in Monday's 8-1 win over the Rays.
The 29-year-old utility player joined in on the fun of a 17-hit attack by the Jays and drove in three runs for the second straight game. Valera is slashing an improbable .391/.444/.652 through 27 plate appearances in September with a homer and 10 RBI, but that figure seems less surprising in light of Toronto's ridiculous team OPS of 1.044 on the month. While the Jays' offense can do no wrong, Valera becomes an intriguing option in daily leagues when he does get a start.
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Blue Jays' Breyvic Valera: Plays supporting role in hit parade
Rotowire
Valera went 2-for-6 with a double and three RBI in Saturday's 22-7 win over the Orioles.
Valera's solid day at the dish was a mere footnote during a weekend in Baltimore in which Toronto put up 44 runs, but the three RBI established a new season high for the 29-year-old and nearly matched his output (four) from the past month. Though he closed the weekend with back-to-back starts at third base, Valera still looks to be behind Jake Lamb in the pecking order for reps at the position.
Valera is on the bench for Monday's game against the Yankees.
Valera had started three of the past four games at third base, but it's not yet clear if he's usurped Kevin Smith as the top option at the position. Look for manager Charlie Montoyo to deploy the two in a rough timeshare at the hot corner for the next few games, hoping that one of the two catches fire at the plate. Recent waiver pickup Jake Lamb could also factor into the mix at the position.
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Blue Jays' Breyvic Valera: Knocks first homer
Rotowire
Valera went 1-for-4 with a two-run home run in Saturday's 10-8 win over Oakland.
The 29-year-old extended Toronto's lead to 4-0 in the fourth inning with his first homer of the year. Valera has started to find his way at the plate a bit more, but he's still just 4-for-13 across his last seven games. He's slashing .241/.281/.352 with five RBI and nine runs scored across 57 plate appearances overall. Valera has mainly competed with Kevin Smith for playing time at third base recently.
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Blue Jays' Breyvic Valera: Losing work to Espinal
Rotowire
Valera will start at third base and bat sixth Wednesday against the Nationals.
Valera started five times in a six-game stretch from Aug. 5 through 12, but he appears to have fallen behind Santiago Espinal in the pecking order at the third base. Though he'll join the lineup Wednesday while Espinal rests for the day game after a night game, Valera could soon see his opportunities take another hit after Toronto called up a pair of utility players (Otto Lopez and Kevin Smith) from Triple-A Buffalo within the past two days.
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Blue Jays' Breyvic Valera: Singles twice in victory
Rotowire
Valera went 2-for-4 with a run scored Sunday in the Blue Jays' 9-8 win over the Red Sox.
Santiago Espinal initially appeared to be first in line to handle an everyday role at third base when Cavan Biggio (back/neck) went on the injured list Aug. 3, but Valera has surprisingly factored into the mix at the position as well. He picked up his fifth start in seven games Sunday, with four of those assignments coming at the hot corner. Valera has delivered a pair of two-hit games during that stretch to bolster his case for playing time, but it's not yet clear if he's usurped Espinal as manager Charlie Montoyo's preferred option at third base.
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Blue Jays' Breyvic Valera: Rejoins Blue Jays
Rotowire
Valera was reinstated from the family medical emergency list Friday.
Valera has been away from the team since Monday, but he'll be available off the bench during Friday's series opener against the Mets. Right-hander Patrick Murphy was optioned to Triple-A Buffalo to make room on the active roster.
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Blue Jays' Breyvic Valera: Steps away from team
Rotowire
Valera was placed on the family medical emergency list Monday.
Valera's contract was selected by the Blue Jays before Sunday's doubleheader against the Rangers, and he'll now step away from the team to deal with a medical emergency within his family.
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Blue Jays' Breyvic Valera: Contract selected by Toronto
Rotowire
Valera's contract was selected prior to Sunday's doubleheader against the Rangers.
He hit .309/.406/.443 with two home runs and seven steals in 149 at-bats in the minors prior to earning his call-up. Valera is likely to work as a bench infielder while up with the big club.
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Blue Jays' Breyvic Valera: Heading to alternate site
Rotowire
Valera cleared waivers and was assigned to the alternate training site Sunday, Keegan Matheson of MLB.com reports.
He unsurprisingly went unclaimed and will serve as organizational infield depth for Toronto this season.
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Blue Jays' Breyvic Valera: Designated for assignment
Rotowire
Valera was designated for assignment Thursday, Keegan Matheson of MLB.com reports.
The infielder was removed from the 40-man roster to make room for Joe Panik. Valera didn't see game action in 2020 but has suited up for five different teams over the prior three seasons, and the 29-year-old could soon be joining a new organization.
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Blue Jays' Breyvic Valera: Returns from restricted list
Rotowire
Valera was activated from the restricted list and will be active for Sunday's spring opener against the Yankees.
The 29-year-old was claimed off waivers by the Blue Jays in early July, but he never reported to summer camp and landed on the restricted list for unspecified reasons. Valera is now back with the team for spring training and will compete for an infield utility role with Toronto.
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Blue Jays' Breyvic Valera: With team, but on restricted list
Rotowire
Valera, who has been on the restricted list since July, reported to Blue Jays camp earlier this week, Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet.ca reports.
For now, Valera is still on the restricted list, so the Blue Jays would need to activate him and add him to the 40-man roster before he's eligible to play again. Nicholson-Smith expects the Blue Jays to announce a transaction within the next few days. Valera will be vying for a utility role with Toronto this spring.
