Cleveland Guardians outfielder George Valera will start the season on the injured list after suffering a calf strain.
George Valera was one of the players the Cleveland Guardians were so high on coming into the season after he had an impressive showing last September and even hit a home run in the playoffs.
However, the rookie outfielder won’t be joining the Guardians for Opening Day or their first series of the season against the Seattle Mariners. Valera’s strong Spring Training was interrupted by an injury, which caused him to miss the final two weeks of the season; his last Cactus League game was on March 9.
Chris Antonetti said on Tuesday that Valera recently played in a Minor League game as the team’s designated hitter. Even though he didn’t play the field, the executive noted that Valera looked good running the bases and even scored from first base on a play.
The good news is that Valera is getting more game action; the bad news is that there’s still no set timetable for his return to the big-league club.
“He had a calf strain, so he's now building up his progression. We're trying to kind of replicate spring training and just build up his volume at this point,” explained Antonetti. “He'll start on the IL, and then we'll go out on a rehab assignment, and then we'll have to see how quickly he's ready to progress from there.”
Feb 24, 2026; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; Cleveland Guardians outfielder George Valera against the Los Angeles Dodgers during a spring training game at Camelback Ranch-Glendale. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn ImagesAgain, before the calf injury, Valera was really putting together a solid spring. He logged an OPS of .833 with a home run and a pair of doubles in 24 at-bats.
Perhaps the even more encouraging part of Valera’s Cactus League action was that the manager, Stephen Vogt, was excited with the way Valera was moving in the outfield, coming off the major leg injury he had at the end of the 2024 season.
Cleveland’s skipper noted that it looked like Valera was starting and stopping better when tracking and chasing balls in the outfield.
If Valera is already back to playing games, even though they are Minor League games, hopefully that means it won’t take him too long to get back up to speed once the season starts.
The Guardians are relying on their youth to help the offense improve, and a healthy Valera is a key piece of that.
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