Padres claim Valera and sign Beckham, Anderson Espinoza placed on IL

Breyvic Valera and Gordon Beckham are the newest San Diego Padres players, as the team continues to fill its roster this spring.

The San Diego Padres announced that they claimed INF Breyvic Valera from the Toronto Blue Jays Wednesday night. In a responding move, RHP Anderson Espinoza winds up on the 60-Day IL.

The #Padres have claimed INF Breyvic Valera off waivers from the Toronto Blue Jays and placed RHP Anderson Espinoza on the 60-Day IL.

— San Diego Padres (@Padres) February 13, 2020

Valera, 28, is the definition of a journeyman. Since 2017, the versatile player is on his 6th team. In that time, he has seen minimal time in the majors.

The Venezuelan native is a career .234 hitter with a home run in 121 ABs. In that time, he mostly played at second base but also experienced time at third base and shortstop.

However, Valera showed some promise in his short 2019 tenure with the Toronto Blue Jays. In a small sample size of 15 games, Valera slugged his only home run along with a .800 OPS.

As for Anderson Espinoza, 21, this is the third time he’s been placed on the 60-Day IL. The San Diego Padres acquired Espinoza in the Drew Pomeranz trade in 2016. Espinoza has not pitched in a game since the end of the 2016 season.

Also announced earlier this week, the Padres signed veteran infielder Gordon Beckham to a minor league deal.

Beckham, 33, is a career .237 hitter with an 80 OPS+. Beckham received a decent amount of playing time with the Detroit Tigers in 2019. In 223 ABs, Beckham hit .215 with six HRs and a 67 OPS+.

It is safe to assume that Beckham and Valera will be competing for playing time with each other this spring.

Dominic Stearn

Dominic is a graduate of Arizona State University’s Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication, with a bachelor’s degree in Sports Journalism. He also  is the producer and co-host of the “Padres EVT Podcast.”