Valbuena grew up in Sucre, a municipality in the Venezuelan state of Zulia. He was raised by a single mother named Nelly, who was the president of the local youth baseball league. Valbuena\'s older brother and several uncles helped him learn to play baseball.\n', '

Valbuena began his professional career in the Seattle Mariners organization in 2005. He was first promoted to the major leagues on September 1, 2008, from the Mariners\' Triple-A team, the Tacoma Rainiers.\n', '

On December 10, 2008, Valbuena was traded to the Cleveland Indians in a three-team trade that sent Franklin Gutiérrez to Seattle. Valbuena hit his first major league home run off of Bartolo Colón on June 7, 2009.\n', '

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