Pirates Designate Enmanuel Valdez For Assignment

The Pirates have designated infielder Enmanuel Valdez for assignment, per a club announcement. His 40-man roster spot goes to the game’s No. 1 overall prospect, shortstop Konnor Griffin, whose previously announced promotion to the majors is now finalized.

Valdez has seen action in parts of three major league seasons, including 102 plate appearances with Pittsburgh last year. The 27-year-old carries a lifetime .230/.288/.392 batting line in the majors and has tallied 14 big league home runs in 474 plate appearances. He’s a left-handed hitter who’s spent the bulk of his time at second base but also has experience at both infield corners and in both outfield corners.

Originally an Astros signee out of his native Dominican Republic, Valdez went from Houston to Boston alongside Wilyer Abreu in the lopsided deal that shipped catcher Christian Vazquez to the Astros in 2022. The Red Sox traded him to the Pirates in Dec. 2024, acquiring minor league reliever Joe Vogatsky in return.

While Valdez has yet to hit much in the majors, he’s a career .250/.343/.467 hitter in parts of four Triple-A seasons. He’s graded out as a poor second base defender in the majors but posted above-average marks in a small sample of 190 innings at first base. Valdez is in his final minor league option year, so any team that plucks him off waivers or swings a small trade for him would be able to send him to Triple-A without restriction — at least for the remainder of the current season. (He’ll be out of options next year.)

The Pirates can trade Valdez or place him on waivers at any point in the next five days. Waivers are a 48-hour process, so within one week’s time the outcome of this morning’s DFA will be known.