Pirates acquire infielder/outfielder Enmanuel Valdez from Red Sox

The Pittsburgh Pirates acquired infielder/outfielder Enmanuel Valdez from the Boston Red Sox on Sunday morning in exchange for minor-league pitcher Joe Vogatsky.

Valdez, 25, appeared in 76 games for the Red Sox last year, slashing .214/.270/.363 with six homers and 28 RBIs but was designated for assignment Dec. 11.

In 125 career MLB games, the 5-foot-8, 191-pounder is a .235 hitter.

Valdez, who bats left-handed but throws right-handed, cracked Boston’s Opening Day roster a year ago and went on to be deployed primarily at second base, where he made 56 starts, posting a .972 fielding percentage.

He also made a handful of appearances at third base and left field.

In 2023, his first big-league campaign, Valdez was also primarily utilized as a second baseman, making all 44 of his defensive starts there.

Valdez began that year ranked as Boston’s No. 18 prospect, per MLB Pipeline.

A native of San Juan de la Maguana, Dominican Republic, Valdez was a originally a free-agent signing by the Houston Astros in 2015 and has appeared in 594 career minor-league games, hitting .254 with 100 homers and 391 RBIs.

Valdez has showcased power in the minors.

In 2021, he hit a combined 22 home runs splitting time between the Astros’ High-A and Double-A affiliates. In 2022, a year in which Houston traded him to the Red Sox, he clubbed 28 in 126 games between Double-A and Triple-A.

He also averaged 28 doubles per year over those two minor-league campaigns.

Vogatsky, a 22-year-old righty, was a 19th-round selection by the Pirates out of James Madison in the 2024 MLB Draft who has yet to make his professional debut.

With the addition of Valdez, the Pirates’ 40-man roster is now at 37.