His performance again earned him the Reds' Minor League Player of the Month for April.

Valaika received the Chief Bender Award for Reds' Minor League Player of the Year in 2008.

He played for the Peoria Javelinas in the Arizona Fall League, where he batted .311 with two doubles, a triple, seven home runs, and 16 RBI in 32 games.

In his first career at-bat, Valaika got his first Major League hit - a single off of Santiago Casilla - on the first pitch he saw.

Valaika was also called up for a brief stint with the Reds in 2011 to fill in for the injured Scott Rolen.

[5] On November 17, 2013, Valaika agreed to a minor-league deal with an invitation to Spring Training with the Chicago Cubs.

On August 1, 2014, Valaika was called up to the Cubs in the wake of the team trading Emilio Bonifacio and James Russell to the Atlanta Braves.

[6] On November 4, 2021, the Cleveland Guardians hired Valaika to serve as their hitting coach, replacing Ty Van Burkleo.