Pirates' Esmerlyn Valdez Leaves Cubs Game With Injury
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CHICAGO — The Pittsburgh Pirates can't avoid injuries to their best players in 2026, and Esmerlyn Valdez is the latest casualty.
Valdez left the Pirates’ series opener against the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field on Sept. 11 after coming up limping on a ground ball in the top of the sixth inning.
He ran to first base, but quickly pulled up and didn't get to the first base bag, as the Pirates' medical staff tended to Valdez.
Valdez didn't put any weight on his left leg, and the Pirates helped him into the dugout and then to the training room for more tests.
The Pirates later announced that Valdez departed the game with left hamstring discomfort and Billy Cook took over in right field in the 11-2 defeat.
Valdez has put together a stellar rookie season for the Pirates, batting .232/.345/.510 for an OPS of .855 in 72 games, with 56 hits, 14 doubles, 17 home runs, 47 RBI and 42 walks to 108 strikeouts.
He hit his first 14 home runs in the first 37 games with the Pirates, the fourth-most in MLB history in that span, earning him his starting spot in right field.
Valdez crushed a home run in four straight games, making him the first Pirates player to do that since Corey Dickerson in 2018.
He also had his best day on July 11, hitting three home runs in a doubleheader against the Milwaukee Brewers at PNC Park.
Valdez hit a solo home run in the second inning and then the go-ahead grand slam in the seventh inning in the 7-6 victory in the first game, then hit a two-run home run in the fourth inning of the 3-2 victory in the second game.
He hit five home runs in the first 11 games out of the All-Star break, then got hit by a pitch on his left arm on July 27 against the Arizona Diamondbacks at PNC Park, which didn’t cause a fracture, but he struggled soon after that.
Valdez went 105 plate appearances and 82 at-bats between his home run against the Cubs at PNC Park on July 26 and his next home run against the San Diego Padres at Petco Park on Aug. 24.
He went seven straight games without a hit from July 31 to Aug. 7 and has hit .174/.312/.313 for an OPS of .625 in the 34 games prior to this one, as major league pitchers have adjusted to him.
The Pirates will hope Valdez won't miss too much time, but this injury looks serious, and he may not make it back before the end of the season.
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Dominic writes for Pittsburgh Pirates On SI, Pittsburgh Panthers Pn SI and also, Pittsburgh Steelers On SI. A Pittsburgh native, Dominic grew up watching Pittsburgh Sports and wrote for The Pitt News as an undergraduate at the University of Pittsburgh, covering Pitt Athletics. He would write for Pittsburgh Sports Now after college and has years of experience covering sports across Pittsburgh.