Guardians Promote Petey Halpin to Major League Roster Following George Valera Option

The Cleveland Guardians have decided to make yet another roster move following the promotion of 2024 No. 1 overall pick, Travis Bazzana, calling up outfielder Petey Halpin to add speed and defense to the outfield.

Sep 20, 2025; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Cleveland Guardians center fielder Petey Halpin (0) celebrates after scoring in his Major League debut against the Minnesota Twins during the fifth inning of game two of a double header at Target Field. Mandatory Credit: Matt Krohn-Imagn Images | Matt Krohn-Imagn Images

The Cleveland Guardians have finally made the corresponding move following the optioning of George Valera to Triple-A Columbus.

On Friday, May 1, the club made it official that in place of Valera, speedy and defensively strong outfielder Petey Halpin would make the jump back to the major league squad. Just last season, Halpin was a late-year call-up and ended up performing pretty well.

There was speculation that he might begin the campaign in the big leagues with the team in Seattle, but the front office opted to give other bodies chances to impress first.

To begin the 2026 campaign, though, Halpin looked solid in Triple-A, making his promotion likely after the Valera news dropped. After all, not only is he on the 40-man roster, but he also is slashing a decent .250/.328/.375 for an OPS of .703 on the campaign.

However, Cleveland is likely to lean into his speed in late-game pinch-running scenarios and play him in the outfield for when guys need rest days.

The Guys Ahead of Him

It is no secret that Halpin isn't going to get a lot of playing time.

Currently, the big-league squad is anchored by Steven Kwan and Angel Martinez taking time in left field, Daniel Schneemann and Kwan splitting reps in center field and Chase DeLauter and various others anchoring right field. This leaves very little room for Halpin to see action, which makes him the obvious call-up for Cleveland.

Stephen Vogt and the rest of the coaching staff are likely not going to put any of those guys off to the side too frequently in exchange for Halpin.

Moving Forward

He will join the Guardians with the understanding that his reason for being called up is to run the bases and play a support-like role for the team when needed.

When he got the nod last year, he appeared in six games and six at-bats, hitting twice, walking twice and striking out twice. He never stole a base, but did score five runs, showing that his base-running abilities were valuable to the team.

This season, he already swiped nine bags for the Clippers without being caught stealing even once.

The Guardians are preparing to take on the Athletics later tonight on Friday, May 1, at 9:40 p.m. EST, with Halpin not expected to be in the lineup. However, if there's a late-game scenario where Vogt needs a runner to get home, he will now have someone to call upon to get the job done.