Chris

Valaika

Valaika served as Cleveland’s hitting coach this season, leading them to finishes of 5th in strikeout rate, 12th in home runs, 14th in runs, and 17th in OPS. Despite putting together a solid season, Valaika, who was a former Reds player, will be moving to Cincinnati to join his former boss, Terry Francona, who was hired as the Reds’ manager this offseason. Valaika will also now serve as the director of hitting, which will give him a bit more authority or decision-making power.

Valaika suffered the injury during Sunday’s 4-1 loss to the Rockies. It’s likely that the procedure will affect his ability to get back to 100 percent in time for the start of spring training next season. He went 7-for-25 with a double and triple in his limited time with the Reds this year.

“I’m all healed up and ready to go,” Valaika told reporters on Monday morning in Reds camp. “I’ve felt 100 percent the last three weeks or so.” The 26-year-old will be competing for a backup infield job this spring.

Valaika tore his ACL during an early-September game against the Rockies and had to be shut down for the rest of the season. But he’s currently on track to be fully healthy by the start of spring training in February.

It’s the very same knee which required surgery last September. The 26-year-old was hitting .244/.274/.384 with three homers, 16 RBI and a .658 OPS over his first 175 plate appearances at the Triple-A level this year.

The move was made in order to clear space on the 40-man roster. Valaika remains in the organization.

Valaika spent all of 2012 at Triple-A with the Reds, batting a paltry .219/.265/.349. He’ll provide organizational depth in Miami.

Valaika suffered the injury Tuesday night when Padres’ first baseman Yonder Alonso slid into him during a stolen base attempt. There’s no clear timetable for his return. Derek Dietrich has been called up from Double-A Jacksonville and should see most of the playing time at second base in the short-term.

Valaika is expected to require 4-6 weeks of healing time before he’s able to return to the Marlins. He had been virtually ineffective in his 22 games before the injury, hitting .219/.261/.344 with one homer and nine RBI.

Miguel Cairo replaced him. Valaika is hitting a solid .280/.333/.400 in limited time this year. We’ll update you on the status of the 2006 third-round pick when more information becomes available.