Enmanuel Valdez DVOA, Advanced Stats, & Fantasy Rankings

Pittsburgh Pirates infielder Enmanuel Valdez (shoulder) underwent season-ending surgery on his injured shoulder on Wednesday. Director of sports medicine Todd Tomczyk said that Valdez is estimated to miss six months while recovering. It's been a rough day of injury news for the struggling Pirates after it was confirmed that right-hander Jared Jones (elbow) will miss the rest of the year following UCL surgery on his right elbow on Wednesday. Valdez, 26, should be ready for spring training in February next year, barring a setback in his recovery from his shoulder surgery. Before getting hurt, the Dominican infielder had gone 19-for-91 (.209) with two home runs, 12 RBI and seven runs scored in 31 games in his first year in Pittsburgh. If healthy next spring, Valdez will be competing for a reserve infield role for the Bucs.

The Pittsburgh Pirates have placed infielder Enmanuel Valdez (shoulder) on the 10-day injured list with left shoulder inflammation. The team did not specify when the 26-year-old suffered this injury. Over his last six contests, Valdez has held a .136/.136/.182 slash line with just one extra-base hit (a double). However, prior to this recent skid, Valdez was enjoying a solid start to the campaign, where he held a .232/.338/.420 slash line with three doubles, two triples, two home runs, and a 13:11 K:BB. During this 25-game stretch, he tallied 11 RBI and scored seven runs. Under the hood, he has generated a solid .340 xwOBA with a .264 xBA, which are both above the average marks. While he is sidelined, fantasy managers should expect Jared Triolo to see an uptick in playing time.

Pittsburgh Pirates infielder Enmanuel Valdez will start on the bench for Friday's series opener against the visiting Atlanta Braves at PNC Park. Matt Gorski will make the start at first base and will hit sixth against Braves right-hander Bryce Elder. Valdez will take a seat a day after the Pirates fired manager Derek Shelton after he had started the team's last 18 games at first base against right-handers. Valdez, 26, has done very little for those in NL-only leagues, hitting .209 (19-for-91) with two home runs, 12 RBI and seven runs scored for the Pirates. He's off to a 4-for-25 start in the month of May with an RBI and four strikeouts in 26 plate appearances. Gorski will be playing in just his ninth major-league game. Through his first eight contests, he's gone 4-for-19 with a homer, triple, RBI and a run scored. Gorski has yet to face Elder as a big-leaguer.

Pittsburgh Pirates infielder Enmanuel Valdez is starting at second base and is hitting leadoff for Friday's series opener at Great American Ball Park against the division-rival Cincinnati Reds and right-hander Brady Singer. Valdez will get a shot at leadoff with outfielder Oneil Cruz (finger) sitting out for the second straight game. The Pirates continue to experiment at the top of their batting order early in the 2025 season. The left-handed-hitting Valdez has started his first season with the Bucs by going just 3-for-17 with a double, triple, two RBI, a run scored, one walk and five strikeouts in seven games played. It will be his first start at the keystone this year with Adam Frazier in right field on Friday. Normally, Valdez will be a bench player for the Pirates, although he'll have deep-sleeper appeal in DFS on Friday in the leadoff spot against a pitcher he's never faced.

The Pirates have acquired infielder/outfielder Enmanuel Valdez in a trade with the Red Sox. Minor league pitcher Joe Vogatsky was shipped to Boston in exchange for Valdez. The 25-year-old debuted for Boston in 2023, playing 125 games and posting a .235-12-47-40-6 line in 372 career plate appearances. It's unclear how the Pirates plan to use the left-handed hitter as they already have Nick Gonzales, Jared Triolo, and Nick Yorke who can play his primary position of second base. Vogatsky was the Pirates' 19th-round pick in the 2024 Draft but has yet to make his minor league debut. Neither player figures to have a significant fantasy impact in 2025.