Young fan drives hard bargain returning milestone HR ball
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TORONTO -- The future of the Pirates is arriving in waves these days, and on Sunday, it was Esmerlyn Valdez’s turn for his first big moment wearing the black and yellow.
With Pittsburgh holding on to a lead in the sixth inning of a 4-1 win against the Blue Jays, Valdez gave his club some breathing room with an opposite-field two-run shot for his first career hit and home run.
The 345-foot liner silenced both the home crowd at Rogers Centre and his teammates, as the Pirates’ No. 9 prospect, per MLB Pipeline, arrived back to his dugout after his trip around the bases to his first Major League silent treatment.
Even if his fellow Pirates in the dugout were giving the rookie his “welcome to the big leagues moment,” Pittsburgh reliever Justin Lawrence went right to work bargaining with the young fan who caught the home run ball in the crowd.
The result of a tough negotiation?
A blockbuster trade: Autographed bat for milestone baseball.
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Valdez’s blast came as Pittsburgh’s third of the game -- a welcome development after a pair of quiet offensive performances north of the border to open the club’s series against the Blue Jays.
The 22-year-old from the Dominican Republic joined the Pirates’ clubhouse on Friday for his MLB debut with the goal of “going to do my job to help the team win and [continuing] to be the best version of myself.”
Pittsburgh will hope that the best version of Valdez comes with many more swings like Sunday’s.
The right-handed-hitting outfielder has completed a meteoric climb to the Majors over the past calendar year, impressing with his power at the plate across multiple levels and in the Arizona Fall League.
He continued that impressive stretch to begin his 2026 campaign with 10 home runs and an .887 OPS in 46 games this year for Triple-A Indianapolis, earning his call to the bigs.