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Top Cleveland Guardians prospect George Valera incited a bench-clearing brawl after appearing to shove an umpire and taking a swipe at an opposing player Thursday night.
Valera, playing for the Triple-A Columbus Clippers, was 1-for-1 in the game and stepped in during the third inning of what turned into a 6-2 Columbus win over the Nashville Sounds.
While standing in the batters’ box, he seemed to take exception to something and started yelling and pointing at Nashville catcher Alex Jackson as the backstop was giving signs to starting pitcher Justin Jarvis.
As the situation escalated, home plate umpire Tanner Moore stepped in between the two, but Valera, who put his finger inside Jackson’s mask, looked as though he shoved Moore in order to get at the Sounds’ catcher again.
That’s when things ratcheted up as Valera took a swing at Jackson, and the benches from both sides cleared.
Valera, MLB Pipeline’s No. 2 Guardians prospect, was eventually pulled away from the melee.
Both Valera, 22, and Jackson, 27, were ejected from the game.
Valera is a Queens native who grew up in the Dominican Republic and first joined the Cleveland organization in 2017 after signing as an international free agent.
He began the 2023 season on the injured list after he had aggravated his surgically repaired right hand before the start of the year.
Since returning to the lineup, Valera has appeared in 21 games for Columbus he’s hit just .187 with a .546 OPS and no home runs.
In 303 minor league games, the outfielder has a .246/.365/.454 slash line.
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