The Blue Jays have placed utility player Breyvic Valera On the restricted list, Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet was one of those who reported. Valera has struggled to leave his native Venezuela, adds Nicholson-Smith.
Valera, 28, joined the Blue Jays on July 2 as a San Diego exemption, though he did see some action with Toronto last season in a previous season. Valera has been quite popular throughout the league, in fact, having played for four other MLB teams in addition to the Blue Jays. However, the switch hitter has only had 138 plate appearances in the majors, and he’s put together a mere .223 / .294 / .298 line with a home run. Valera has been much better at the Triple-A level, where he has a .302 / .374 / .442 record with 31 home runs in 1,550 PA.
Between his success in the minors and his ability to line up across the field, it’s not difficult to see why so many teams have risked Valera. The hope for the Blue Jays is that Valera will become an important and valuable player in his uniform, but he’s up in the air if he will play for the club again.
