3 Pirates players on the 40-man roster who are fighting for a final roster spot

2. Enmanuel Valdez

The Pirates acquired Enmanuel Valdez this offseason from the Boston Red Sox. Valdez has a career .235/.286/.400 triple-slash, .296 wOBA, and 84 wRC+. The infielder has shown some power potential throughout his 372 big league plate appearances. He has a dozen home runs, an 88.6 MPH exit velocity, and a 9.8% barrel rate for his career. His career xSLG% sits at a respectable .415 mark. Although Valdez has flashed some pop, there are some major red flags in his game.

Valdez has a 24.2% strikeout rate with a poor 6.7% walk rate. In terms of plate discipline numbers, he's been about average, with a 28.6% chase rate (league average is 28.5%) and a 23% whiff percentage (average is 25%). The big negative to Valdez's game is his defense. He has -8 defensive runs saved and -11 outs above average in just 824.2 innings at the keystone. That's essentially unplayable, and flies in the face of the sturdiness you'd expect from a backup.

Despite the Pirates having a handful of infielders already on the roster, Valdez is doing everything he can to make the Opening Day roster. In 20 plate appearances, he has three hits, including a double and home run. He has also drawn seven walks to oppose a pair of strikeouts. According to Baseball Savant, Valdez has swung and missed at just 13.3% of tracked spring training pitches, which is elite, albeit in a small sample size.

However, like Bae, Valdez can still be optioned to Triple-A. The difference is that Valdez has just one option remaining. Valdez could be a left-handed hitting power bat, and he's shown that off in spring training. If the Pirates expect Adam Frazier to be out longer than expected, Valdez is definitely in a position to take a roster spot.