The Pittsburgh Pirates entered Friday trying to chase down a playoff spot in the National League.
And then they went and had a really rough day at the office at Wrigley Field against the Chicago Cubs.
The scoreboard was bad enough as the Cubs knocked the ball all over the yard to put up double-digit runs.
But the injury news wasn’t good, either. The Pirates had young slugger Esmerlyn Valdez exit the game. With only a few weeks left in the regular season, they can’t afford an extended absence for Valdez.
Esmerlyn Valdez Injury Update
Valdez left the game in the middle innings after taking a swing and grounding out to shortstop.
He appeared to get injured pretty much right away. He hardly ran down the line after his first few steps.
The injury was to something in his left leg, it appeared:
Esmerlyn Valdez is out of the game. He could barely get off the field after running to first base. He can’t put much weight on his left leg. pic.twitter.com/bg9AZeRPUl
— Aiden Stepansky (@AidenStepansky) September 11, 2026
The Pirates officially announced the injury as being left hamstring discomfort.
Pittsburgh’s announcement also shared that Valdez was being treated by the Pirates’ medical staff following his departure from the game.
Esmerlyn Valdez left today’s game due to left hamstring discomfort. He is currently being examined and treated by the club’s medical staff.
— Pittsburgh Pirates (@Pirates) September 11, 2026
Valdez hasn’t stayed as red hot as he was earlier in the season, but he’s still one of the bats in the Pittsburgh order with the most thump.
He has hit 17 home runs this season and driven in 47 runs, and he’s still just 22 years old.
Pirates fans will be crossing their fingers and hoping that Valdez is OK.
Who Would Replace Esmerlyn Valdez?
Valdez was playing right field on Friday, and when he left the game, Billy Cook took his spot in the batting order.
Cook, though, went to centerfield. Jared Triolo moved from third base to right field, and Jacob Gonzalez entered to play third.
That meant the Pirates removed Oneil Cruz, although that seemed more to do with the score than anything else.
If Valdez is forced to miss time, the two outfielders that are often on Pittsburgh’s bench are Cook and Jake Mangum.
The Pirates also have the option of putting DH Ryan O’Hearn into a corner outfield spot and slotting someone else in at DH.
None of those options keep the same slugging ability in the lineup as when Valdez plays, so none of them are particularly ideal.
But it’s late in the year and there aren’t a bunch of solutions out there. Pittsburgh will just have to make do with what it has as the Pirates try to make a last-gasp push for the final NL Wild Card spot.
Esmerlyn Valdez Injury Update Is Bad News for Pirates