The Guardians designated Valera (knee) for assignment Tuesday. Valera underwent surgery in September to repair a ruptured patellar tendon in his right knee, and his absence is expected to extend into the first portion of the 2025 campaign. Rather than keeping him on the 40-man roster until then, the Guardians will attempt to pass the 24-year-old through waivers and hand his roster spot to fellow outfielder Petey Halpin.
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The Guardians designated Valera (knee) for assignment Tuesday. Valera underwent surgery in September to repair a ruptured patellar tendon in his right knee, and his absence is expected to extend into the first portion of the 2025 campaign. Rather than keeping him on the 40-man roster until then, the Guardians will attempt to pass the 24-year-old through waivers and hand his roster spot to fellow outfielder Petey Halpin.
The Guardians designated Gillispie for assignment Tuesday. Gillispie yielded just two earned runs over eight MLB innings in 2024, but he also logged a 4.05 ERA and 1.24 WHIP over 113.1 Triple-A frames. His 40-man spot will be handed to Nic Enright, who consequentially is protected from the upcoming Rule 5 Draft.
The Guardians designated Strzelecki for assignment Tuesday. Strzelecki was effective during his time in the majors last season, allowing just three runs over 11.2 innings with the Guardians. However, his 5.01 ERA at Triple-A Columbus makes him significantly less reliable than his MLB statline would suggest, so the team will strip him of his 40-man spot and use it to protect fellow right-hander Franco Aleman from the upcoming Rule 5 Draft.
The Guardians selected Enright to their 40-man roster Tuesday. Enright missed four months of last season due to an injury, but he was dominant when healthy, putting up a 1.06 ERA and 0.82 WHIP alongside a 31:5 K:BB through 17 innings with Triple-A Columbus. The 27-year-old righty's performance has now earned him a spot on Cleveland's 40-man roster, and he could have a chance to make his MLB debut in 2025 if he turns in similar results to begin the minor-league season.
Mushinski signed a minor-league contract with the Guardians on Friday and received an invitation to spring training, Chandler Rome of The Athletic reports. Mushinski allowed eight earned runs over 11 innings in the big leagues with Houston last season. However, most of his time was spent at Triple-A, where the 28-year-old southpaw posted a 5.44 ERA over 44.2 frames. He will most likely fill in as organizational bullpen depth for the Guardians.
The Guardians agreed to a one-year, $4 million contract with Hedges on Wednesday, Buster Olney of ESPN reports. Hedges will return to Cleveland as Bo Naylor's backup. The 32-year-old slashed only .152/.203/.220 with two homers in 66 contests for the Guardians this season but is lauded for his defense and handling of a pitching staff.
Fry underwent surgery Monday to repair the UCL in his right elbow, Mandy Bell of MLB.com reports. Fry initially injured his elbow in June but played through it for the rest of the season, although he was limited to designated hitter duty almost exclusively. He is expected to be ready to DH again in 6-to-8 months, but it will be 12 months before he's able to play the field again. Fry batted .263/.356/.448 with 14 homers during the regular season for the Guardians.
Straw cleared waivers Friday and was sent outright to Triple-A Columbus. Straw spent the vast majority of the season with Columbus, slashing .240/.321/.329 with 47 RBI across 434 plate appearances. Now that the 30-year-old outfielder no longer has a spot on the 40-man roster, it's unlikely he makes a significant contribution to the Guardians in 2025 -- barring a drastic turnaround at the plate.
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