Source: Pirates plan to add Valdez to 40-man roster
The Pirates are planning to add Esmerlyn Valdez to their 40-man roster in an effort to keep him from being exposed to next month’s Rule 5 Draft, per source.
Players who are Rule 5 eligible must be added to a team’s 40-man roster by 6 p.m. today in order to protect them from the draft.
This particular move seemed rather inevitable given the year that Valdez, 21, has had. The Pirates' No. 15-ranked prospect according to MLB Pipeline is coming off a stellar 2025 season in which he earned a trip to the Futures Game in Atlanta. For the season, Valdez batted .286 with an .896 OPS to go along with his 26 home runs and 86 RBIs in 123 games between high Class A Greensboro and Class AA Altoona.
Valdez’s success translated to the 19 games he played in this year’s Arizona Fall League. He led all players in home runs (8), RBIs (27) and slugging percentage (.842) en route to being named the league’s offensive player of the year. He also finished among the league leaders in a number of other offensive categories, including OPS (1.355; second), batting average (.368; sixth) and runs scored (19; T-eighth).
The Pirates already have one Rule 5 eligible player on their 40-man roster in RyanHarbin, who was slated to become a minor-league free agent. HunterBarco and RafaelFlores were going to be Rule 5 eligible as well, had they not been added to the 40-man roster before making their MLB debuts late in the season.
THE ASYLUM
Source: Pirates plan to add Valdez to 40-man roster
The Pirates are planning to add Esmerlyn Valdez to their 40-man roster in an effort to keep him from being exposed to next month’s Rule 5 Draft, per source.
Players who are Rule 5 eligible must be added to a team’s 40-man roster by 6 p.m. today in order to protect them from the draft.
This particular move seemed rather inevitable given the year that Valdez, 21, has had. The Pirates' No. 15-ranked prospect according to MLB Pipeline is coming off a stellar 2025 season in which he earned a trip to the Futures Game in Atlanta. For the season, Valdez batted .286 with an .896 OPS to go along with his 26 home runs and 86 RBIs in 123 games between high Class A Greensboro and Class AA Altoona.
Valdez’s success translated to the 19 games he played in this year’s Arizona Fall League. He led all players in home runs (8), RBIs (27) and slugging percentage (.842) en route to being named the league’s offensive player of the year. He also finished among the league leaders in a number of other offensive categories, including OPS (1.355; second), batting average (.368; sixth) and runs scored (19; T-eighth).
The Pirates already have one Rule 5 eligible player on their 40-man roster in Ryan Harbin, who was slated to become a minor-league free agent. Hunter Barco and Rafael Flores were going to be Rule 5 eligible as well, had they not been added to the 40-man roster before making their MLB debuts late in the season.
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