Cardinals recall IF Valera from Memphis after 800 minor league games
Breyvic Valera has paid his dues. Now the hard work in the minors has paid off in the form of a promotion to the major leagues.
The St. Louis Cardinals recalled the infielder from Triple-A Memphis. He will join the big-league club for Tuesday night's game in San Diego.
Valera, 25, was signed as a non-drafted free agent in 2010 from Venezuela. He has since played in 800 career minor league games over eight seasons.
The switch-hitting infielder led the Memphis Redbirds, the team with the best record in the Pacific Coast League, in batting (.314), hits (133) and triples (six) this season. He also has eight home runs, 41 RBIs and 11 stolen bases. Valera struck out just 34 times in 424 at-bats this season and led Memphis down the stretch to their record-breaking 91-win campaign by batting .346 with five homers and 18 RBIs in August, earning the organization's Minor League Player of the Month award.
Valera has a career .303 batting average and .359 on-base percentage in his minor league career. He has been named to three midseason All-Star Games (New York-Penn League in 2012, Midwest League in 2013 and Florida State League 2014) and won 2016 Venezuelan Winter League Most Valuable Player honors.
