The Pirates finally had Ryan O’Hearn back in the lineup Friday, but that bit of good news barely had time to register before another injury scare hit Pittsburgh hard at Wrigley Field.
O’Hearn was activated from the 10-day injured list before the series opener against the Chicago Cubs, giving the Pirates their first look at him since he went down with a left quad strain on July 31. For a club trying to piece together something close to its best group for the stretch run, it looked like a meaningful step forward.
Then the sixth inning happened in a 12-2 loss, and Esmerlyn Valdez was helped off the field after running out a ground ball and pulling up before first base. Pittsburgh later said he left with left hamstring discomfort.
The scene was rough enough on its own. The timing made it worse.
O’Hearn had been producing at a high level before the injury, hitting .270/.334/.454 with 17 home runs and 68 RBI. Getting that bat back should have given the Pirates a lift in a lineup still fighting to stay in the National League playoff race.
Instead, the club may have watched another key hitter go down.
Valdez has been one of Pittsburgh’s brightest surprises this season. In 72 games, the rookie entered Friday batting .232/.345/.510 with an .855 OPS, along with 17 home runs and 47 RBI.
His early surge was loud enough to force him into the everyday right-field role, and his power never really disappeared even after pitchers started to adjust. He had hit just .174/.312/.313 over his previous 34 games entering Friday, but the home-run threat remained.
That breakout had already included a four-game home run streak and a three-homer doubleheader against the Milwaukee Brewers, part of one of the most eye-catching starts to a career in franchise history.
For now, the Pirates are left hoping Valdez’s injury is only a scare. They’ve already spent much of the season waiting on players such as O’Hearn, Konnor Griffin and Oneil Cruz to get healthy enough to show what this offense can really be.
What should have been the day O’Hearn returned to help stabilize the lineup instead became another reminder of how quickly things can change.
In Other News...
Pirates Fans May Be Rethinking That Paul Skenes Yankees Return
The Paul Skenes trade chatter keeps hanging around the Pirates, and the latest version of it has centered on a possible Yankees package built around Spencer Jones. It is the kind of rumor that inevitably grabs attention in Pittsburgh because Skenes is already the face of the pitching staff, but it also lands in a moment when the conversation has gotten more complicated, with Jones starting to look more like a real asset and Skenes coming off a stretch of uneven outings.
For Pirates fans, that is what makes the speculation tricky to sort through. A young pitcher with ace upside is not something a team gives away lightly, yet any return would have to be substantial enough to match the value of a player like Skenes, and the Yankees have at least one intriguing piece in Jones to talk about. For now, though, it remains exactly that: talk, with no confirmed trade and no official decision from either side. [Read more 🡒]
Pirates Lose Key Rookie Bat As Late Push Gets Tougher
The Pirates late-season push took another hit when they placed right fielder Esmerlyn Valdez on the 10-day injured list after he sustained a left hamstring injury in the Sept. 12 game. Valdez had emerged as a key power bat for Pittsburgh, giving the lineup a needed jolt at a time when every productive at-bat matters, and losing him removes one of the clubs more important sources of pop.
In the corresponding move, Pittsburgh recalled outfielder Ronny Simon from Triple-A Indianapolis, and the team is expected to cover right field with Jake Mangum and Simon while Valdez works back. For a club trying to keep its offense moving, the injury leaves even less margin for error, and it puts more attention on how quickly the Pirates can piece together production in a spot that had finally become a real threat. [Read more 🡒]
Pirates Suddenly Face A Rotation Problem At The Worst Time
The Pirates were already threading a needle in the rotation, and a 12-2 loss to the Cubs only underscored how thin the margin has become. With Braxton Ashcraft sidelined on the 15-day injured list because of right-side discomfort, Pittsburgh turned to three rookie pitchers just to get through the game, a sign of how much the staff has been stretched while the club tries to stay in the National League Wild Card race.
Mitch Keller being lost for the season with a right arm injury has only added to the pressure on a group that needed steadiness most in the final stretch. With only a few games left, the Pirates are trying to patch together innings and keep themselves in the chase, but the rotation now looks like the clearest problem standing in the way of a push that was already going to be difficult. [Read more 🡒]