Pirates place 1B Enmanuel Valdez on injured list, recall INF/OF Ji Hwan Bae from Triple-A
The Pittsburgh Pirates placed infielder Enmanuel Valdez on the 10-day injured list Friday because of left shoulder inflammation, the club announced.
Valdez’s injury designation is retroactive to May 8.
In a corresponding move, infielder/outfielder Ji Hwan Bae was recalled from Triple-A Indianapolis.
Bae, 25, was on the Pirates’ Opening Day roster but was optioned to Triple-A on April 3, where he has remained since.
In 23 games with the Indians, Bae slashed .258/.343/.376 with a homer, six RBIs and eight doubles, striking out 22 times as compared to 11 walks.
Defensively at Triple-A, Bae has deployed at all three outfield positions, seeing the most action in center field (13 starts, 121 innings).
Valdez, 26, has served as the Pirates’ primary first baseman, a position at which he had scant experience entering 2025, since mid-April.
His 22 starts there lead the club.
Offensively, Valdez in his first year with the Pirates has batted .209, serving frequently as cleanup hitter.
Valdez had two homers and 12 RBIs with a .294 on-base percentage at the time of his injury.
Justin Guerriero is a TribLive reporter covering the Penguins, Pirates and college sports. A Pittsburgh native, he is a Central Catholic and University of Colorado graduate. He joined the Trib in 2022 after covering the Colorado Buffaloes for Rivals and freelancing for the Denver Post. He can be reached at jguerriero@triblive.com.
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