00:00I do want to talk about George Valera in Cleveland for a minute
00:03before we wrap with some depth because George Valera has been a name
00:07that we have been obsessed with since 2021.
00:12Yeah, this is one of those names where I realize you and I have been doing this
00:16with each other for a little bit now, right?
00:18Like we've talked about George Valera, the borderline blue chip prospect
00:23to George Valera, the guy that I think got non-tender.
00:27Did he, I'm trying to remember what the whole process was.
00:30Did they sign him back?
00:31And then here we are several years later, he finally gets an opportunity
00:35and still somehow, by the way, he's still just 24 years old.
00:39I am really happy for George Valera because health has been a challenge for him
00:44and results have been inconsistent.
00:47And here he is getting a big league opportunity.
00:50So they DFA'd him.
00:51He then elected free agency and then he re-signed three days later in November
00:57of last year, November 24, a minor league contract with an invite to spring training.
01:02So he was DFA'd.
01:04He was taken off the 40-man and they brought him back on a minor league deal,
01:07non-40 type deal.
01:09That was how that worked.
01:10But George Valera also spent more time this year on the injured list.
01:14That has been the problem for Valera.
01:16But when he has been on the field this year, he's been really good.
01:2044 games in the minor leagues.
01:21Of course, some of it on a rehab assignment in the ACL.
01:24He was amazing on the ACL, but 44 games in the minor leagues this year.
01:28Hit 318 with 19 extra base hits and an OPS just under 940.
01:34So Valera, they are getting a pretty fun bat here in Cleveland,
01:38and we'll see what that can do for him.
01:40It's just a massive barrel tilt.
01:42It's a beautiful swing when he connects, but then you look at upstairs fastballs
01:46and you say, are you ever really going to hit those?
01:48Yeah, that is the tough part.
01:49But when he connects, it is so smooth.
01:52You know, there's a world here where he's a bulk platoon guy.
01:55You know, I think there's a world where he can hit right-handed pitching well enough
01:58and fill a big league role.
02:00In 31 games this year, AAA against righties, 311, 380, 500 slash line.
02:06So small sample, but it's 100 plate appearances.
02:08So we'll see.
02:10And still, again, just 24 years old.
02:12I'm glad he's getting up and getting the opportunity.
02:14And talent hasn't been a huge question, but, yeah, that is a really loud move.
02:18And I don't know if it's going to work consistently enough,
02:21but he looks a little bit more hitterish right now.
02:24We've got about three minutes left here.
02:26Two guys that are just Mr. Everything that come back up
02:29and they will fill in any role as needed.
02:31It's like the younger version of Isaiah Conner-Falefa.
02:33I want to start with Hesung Kim of the L.A. Dodgers,
02:36who was the free agent signing from the KBO this past offseason.
02:40He can really do everything.
02:42He's a base dealer, too, was dealing with some injury at points.
02:45There really wasn't a spot for him on the Major League roster for a minute.
02:49But with rosters expanding,
02:50this is just another iron in the fire to have on the bench.
02:53Yeah, I was kind of shocked at how well he started
02:55because I think when we went into the season, I said, good piece.
02:58But I was concerned about the batter ball quality
03:01and just how aggressive he could be when I was looking at, you know,
03:05some of the just the video and data from before he came over
03:09and got off to this really hot start,
03:11came back down to earth a little bit.
03:13But they don't need him to be anything more than a utility guy for them.
03:16And when you look at what he was doing in AAA,
03:19over the final week there before he got back up,
03:21here's the game logs by position.
03:23Left field, shortstop, DH, centerfield, shortstop,
03:27left field, second base, left field.
03:29Come on.
03:30That's a we just talked about the IKF thing.
03:32Copy paste with even more, I think,
03:35components to where he can impact the game for you and more speed.
03:39And he comes into a situation here where it's just a nice player to add to the fold.
03:43But now with the versatility of Alex Freeland as well,
03:46they've got a lot of guys that can move around the diamond,
03:49which I think is helpful, especially down the stretch.
03:54100%.
03:54Last guy we got to talk about, Luis Angelicuna with the New York Mets.
03:57He is back up.
03:5828 games in Syracuse hit 303 with a 730 OPS 79 games in the big leagues this year.
04:04No homers hit 239.
04:06Wasn't really walking at all.
04:08He doesn't strike out.
04:09This feels late game defender ish to me.
04:12Yeah.
04:12And speed up, right?
04:13He's going to get that, that big stolen base for you potentially.
04:16And, and that is a role that's important.
04:19You know, he's talking about like Gerard Dyson and what he did for the Royals.
04:22But he's been swinging it really well of late too.
04:25And I think that was a big part of it.
04:26I mean, I think it was five of his final seven games before getting back up
04:31were multi-hit performances.
04:33And before that, he had a lot more multi-hit performances as well.
04:36So it seems like something kind of clicked for him offensively.
04:39He'd been right hot in that regard.
04:40And you add just a speedster who can play all over the diamonds,
04:43just another bench asset for you,
04:45which had been kind of a rough year for him offensively.
04:48So riding a little bit of a hot stretch here,
04:50they had been defending like crap.
04:51So having him in the fold there too, I do think helps,
04:55especially for late game defensive replacement, forget the speed up.
04:58There's some guys right now that I don't want defending in the ninth inning,
05:01the way that they've been playing defense.
05:02So the fact that Acuna can play a good shortstop, solid center,
05:07a great second, a good third.
05:09They need that.
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