JUPITER, Fla. • John Mozeliak, the Cardinals’ president of baseball operations, added a wrinkle to the projection of who would constitute the Cardinals’ bench when he threw out the name of utility man Breyvic Valera Monday. Speaking to Post-Dispatch reporters after the club’s unofficial workout, Mozeliak spoke highly of the versatility of Valera, who, as a switch-hitter, also adds a lefthanded-hitting element to the bench which has only Greg Garcia as a lefthanded hitter, to date.
Valera got only brief action late last season for the Cardinals after being summoned from Memphis. But he has rare value in these days of stratospheric strikeout totals in that he has walked more times (260) than he has struck out 236) in his eight-season minor league career, excluding one walk and no strikeouts in 10 at-bats with the Cardinals.