The Pittsburgh Pirates promoted outfielder and first baseman Esmerlyn Valdez to the major leagues from Triple-A Indianapolis on Thursday, May 21, 2026.
The move fills a vacancy in right field created by Ryan O'Hearn landing on the injured list with a quadriceps injury.
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To make room on the active roster, the Pirates optioned outfielder Billy Cook back to Triple-A Indianapolis, according to reports from Francys Romero of BeisbolFR.
com and Pirates insider Jason Mackey.
Valdez, ranked as Pittsburgh's No. 9 prospect by MLB Pipeline, earns his first career call-up after a powerful minor league stint.
During his time with Indianapolis, the 6-foot-2, 234-pound right-handed hitter compiled a . 253/.
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381/. 506 batting line with an .
888 OPS.
He appeared in 46 games, recording 10 home runs, 29 RBI, and 25 runs scored across 194 plate appearances while showing improved maturity by lowering his swing-and-miss and chase rates.
It remains unclear how the Pirates will distribute playing time in right field moving forward.
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The club previously recalled outfielder Jhostynxon Garcia from Triple-A on Tuesday for a similar role, meaning Valdez will likely share playing time or enter a platoon situation against left-handed pitchers during his initial major league stretch.
