The Altoona Curve have placed shortstop Stephen Alemais on the 7-day injured list with a right shoulder strain. To take his place on the roster, infielder Adrian Valerio has been promoted from Bradenton.
Alemais was injured on a slide during the first inning of Wednesday’s game. He remained in long enough to score a run, but wasn’t out on defense in the next half inning. He was also out for the first week of the season, so his playing time has been limited. Through 12 games this year, Alemais is batting .267/.283/.267 in 46 plate appearances.
Valerio has been playing second base and shortstop with Bradenton, where he also spent the 2018 season. The Curve won’t lose much defensively, as Alemais and Valerio are two of the better defenders in the system. Valerio hasn’t had much success on the hitting side over his career, though he showed signs of breaking out in 2017 with West Virginia. He also just turned 22 years old last month, so he has time on his side for now. He was hitting .200/.241/.291 through 16 games with Bradenton this year.
Valerio is in the lineup today at shortstop, batting second. Both players are pictured above, with Valerio on the left.
