Who Should I Trade?

Esmerlyn Valdez for Ildemaro Vargas (2026)

Summary
Stats
Projections
News & Notes
Schedule

Who Should I Trade? Player Summaries
	Experts' Pick
	Esmerlyn Valdez 1B,LF,RF - PIT	Ildemaro Vargas 1B,2B - ARI
Expert Recommendation	60% Recommended by 3 of 5 experts	40% Recommended by 2 of 5 experts
Rankings

Rest of Season	# 169	# 205
VBR	# 231	# 707

Projections

Runs	14	9
Home Runs	5	1
RBI	15	9
Stolen Bases	0	1
Batting Average	.236	.257

Misc

Injury Alert	-	-

Expert Ranks

Scott Pianowski Yahoo! Sports	# 115	# 206

Chris Welsh FantasyPros	# 126	‐

Kelly Kirby FantasyPros	# 161	# 285

Kevin Spinelli KevScores	# 128	# 109

Mike Maher BettingPros	‐	# 188

Who Should I Trade? Player Statistics
	Esmerlyn Valdez 1B,LF,RF - PIT	Ildemaro Vargas 1B,2B - ARI
2026 Stats


At Bats	192	359

Runs	34	50

Hits	48	94

Singles	21	64

Doubles	12	17

Triples	1	4

Home Runs	14	9

RBI	41	60

Stolen Bases	0	3

Caught Stealing	1	0

Walks	35	22

Strikeouts	83	37

Batting Average	.250	.262

On Base Pct	.364	.307

Slugging Pct	.542	.407

On-base Plus Slugging	.905	.714

Who Should I Trade? Player Projections
	Esmerlyn Valdez 1B,LF,RF - PIT	Ildemaro Vargas 1B,2B - ARI
2026 Projections


At Bats	104	73

Runs	14	9

Hits	24	19

Singles	15	13

Doubles	5	4

Triples	0	1

Home Runs	5	1

RBI	15	9

Stolen Bases	0	1

Caught Stealing	0	0

Walks	12	5

Strikeouts	35	9

Batting Average	.236	.257

On Base Pct	.323	.308

Slugging Pct	.422	.375

On-base Plus Slugging	.745	.683

Who Should I Trade? Player Notes
	Esmerlyn Valdez 1B,LF,RF - PIT	Ildemaro Vargas 1B,2B - ARI
News
	Esmerlyn Valdez is expected to be in the lineup in Tuesday's game against the Diamondbacks. Ari Koslow Tue, Jul 28th	Ildemaro Vargas went 1-for-5 with a home room and three RBI in the Diamondbacks 10-3 win over the Braves on Saturday. Ari Koslow Sun, Aug 16th
	The Pirates didn’t provide an update on Esmerlyn Valdez following Monday’s game against the Diamondbacks. Ari Koslow Tue, Jul 28th	Ildemaro Vargas went 2-for-5 with four RBI in the Diamondbacks 10-4 win over the Padres on Wednesday. Ari Koslow Thu, Aug 6th
	Esmerlyn Valdez was removed from Monday’s game against the Diamondbacks after being hit by a pitch on the left hand. Ari Koslow Mon, Jul 27th	Ildemaro Vargas went 3-for-5 in the Diamondbacks 7-4 loss on Friday against the Brewers. Ari Koslow Sat, Jul 4th
	Esmerlyn Valdez went 2-for-3 with a home run in the Pirates 8-7 win over the Cubs on Sunday. Ari Koslow Mon, Jul 27th	Ildemaro Vargas remains out of the lineup for Tuesday’s series opener against the Marlins. Ari Koslow Tue, Jun 9th
	Esmerlyn Valdez went 1-for-3 with a home run in the Pirates 8-5 loss against the Yankees on Monday. Ari Koslow Tue, Jul 21st	Ildemaro Vargas is not in the Diamondbacks lineup on Sunday against the Nationals. Ari Koslow Sun, Jun 7th
Notes
There are no recent notes for these players

Who Should I Trade? Player Schedules
Date	Opp	Opp Pitcher	VBR	Opp	Opp Pitcher	VBR
	Esmerlyn Valdez 1B,LF,RF - PIT			Ildemaro Vargas 1B,2B - ARI
Thu, Mar 26th	@ NYM	Freddy Peralta (5-10)	#50	@ LAD	Yoshinobu Yamamoto (12-7)	#12
Sat, Mar 28th	@ NYM	David Peterson (7-7)	#147	@ LAD	Tyler Glasnow (3-0)	#35
Sun, Mar 29th	@ NYM	Nolan McLean (9-8)	#28
Mon, Mar 30th	@ CIN	Chase Burns (14-2)	#26	vs DET	Justin Verlander (0-1)	#230
Tue, Mar 31st	@ CIN	Brandon Williamson (2-3)	#378	vs DET	Casey Mize (5-7)	#43
Wed, Apr 1st	@ CIN	Andrew Abbott (6-8)	#123	vs DET	Tarik Skubal (7-7)	#2
Fri, Apr 3rd	vs BAL	Kyle Bradish (7-11)	#39	vs ATL	Grant Holmes (7-5)	#164
Sat, Apr 4th	vs BAL	Shane Baz (4-13)	#57	vs ATL	Bryce Elder (8-7)	#162
Sun, Apr 5th	vs BAL	Chris Bassitt (4-4)	#188	vs ATL	Martin Perez (8-7)	#267
Mon, Apr 6th	vs SD	German Marquez (4-2)	#413
Tue, Apr 7th	vs SD	Nick Pivetta (1-2)	#121	@ NYM	Freddy Peralta (5-10)	#50
Wed, Apr 8th	vs SD	Michael King (8-8)	#59	@ NYM	David Peterson (7-7)	#147
Fri, Apr 10th	@ CHC	Shota Imanaga (8-9)	#20	@ PHI	Jesus Luzardo (11-5)	#11
Sat, Apr 11th	@ CHC	Edward Cabrera (5-5)	#81	@ PHI	Taijuan Walker (1-4)
Sun, Apr 12th	@ CHC	Jameson Taillon (2-6)	#222	@ PHI	Zach Pop
Mon, Apr 13th	vs WSH	Cade Cavalli (10-5)	#44	@ BAL	Dean Kremer (2-4)	#84
Tue, Apr 14th	vs WSH	PJ Poulin (3-0)	#357	@ BAL	Trevor Rogers (8-8)	#45
Wed, Apr 15th	vs WSH	Jake Irvin (2-7)	#136	@ BAL	Kyle Bradish (7-11)	#39
Thu, Apr 16th	vs WSH	Foster Griffin (14-4)	#46
Fri, Apr 17th	vs TB	Nick Martinez (12-4)	#87	vs TOR	Braydon Fisher (3-4)	#206
Sat, Apr 18th	vs TB	Drew Rasmussen (12-5)	#16	vs TOR	Max Scherzer (1-5)	#119
Sun, Apr 19th	vs TB	Shane McClanahan (9-6)	#38	vs TOR	Kevin Gausman (6-11)	#21
Tue, Apr 21st	@ TEX	Kumar Rocker (4-9)	#96	vs CWS	Sean Burke (7-6)	#61
Wed, Apr 22nd	@ TEX	Jack Leiter (3-7)	#101	vs CWS	Anthony Kay (9-5)	#149
Thu, Apr 23rd	@ TEX	Jacob deGrom (8-8)	#7	vs CWS	Davis Martin (9-6)	#166
Fri, Apr 24th	@ MIL	Brandon Woodruff (2-2)
Sat, Apr 25th	@ MIL	Jacob Misiorowski (12-5)	#5	vs SD	German Marquez (4-2)	#413
Sun, Apr 26th	@ MIL	Kyle Harrison (10-3)	#47	vs SD	Michael King (8-8)	#59
Mon, Apr 27th	vs STL	Dustin May (6-7)	#54
Tue, Apr 28th	vs STL	Kyle Leahy (10-4)	#88	@ MIL	Chad Patrick (6-4)	#139
Wed, Apr 29th	vs STL	Andre Pallante (12-6)	#126	@ MIL	Brandon Sproat (3-7)	#208
Thu, Apr 30th	vs STL	Hunter Dobbins (3-3)	#150	@ MIL	Brandon Woodruff (2-2)
Fri, May 1st	vs CIN	Brady Singer (5-11)	#175	@ CHC	Colin Rea (8-8)	#192
Sat, May 2nd	vs CIN	Rhett Lowder (4-8)	#178	@ CHC	Shota Imanaga (8-9)	#20
Sun, May 3rd	vs CIN	Chase Burns (14-2)	#26	@ CHC	Matthew Boyd (8-2)	#53
Tue, May 5th	@ ARI	Eduardo Rodriguez (12-4)	#120	vs PIT	Bubba Chandler (6-8)	#117
Wed, May 6th	@ ARI	Michael Soroka (8-3)	#62	vs PIT	Paul Skenes (9-11)	#4
Thu, May 7th	@ ARI	Zac Gallen (3-9)	#217	vs PIT	Mitch Keller (6-8)
Fri, May 8th	@ SF	Robbie Ray (11-7)	#109	vs NYM	Nolan McLean (9-8)	#28
Sat, May 9th	@ SF	Landen Roupp (7-12)	#75	vs NYM	Clay Holmes (5-5)	#72
Sun, May 10th	@ SF	Tyler Mahle (4-10)	#82	vs NYM	Huascar Brazoban (5-2)	#193
Tue, May 12th	vs COL	Michael Lorenzen (3-11)	#438	@ TEX	MacKenzie Gore (7-9)	#42
Wed, May 13th	vs COL	Jose Quintana (2-3)	#435	@ TEX	Kumar Rocker (4-9)	#96
Thu, May 14th	vs COL	Chase Dollander (3-3)
Fri, May 15th	vs PHI	Aaron Nola (4-9)	#58	@ COL	Kyle Freeland (4-10)	#329
Sat, May 16th	vs PHI	Cristopher Sanchez (16-4)	#3	@ COL	Tomoyuki Sugano (12-6)	#436
Sun, May 17th	vs PHI	Zack Wheeler (10-4)	#8	@ COL	Michael Lorenzen (3-11)	#438
Tue, May 19th	@ STL	Matthew Liberatore (5-10)	#86	vs SF	Landen Roupp (7-12)	#75
Wed, May 20th	@ STL	Michael McGreevy (5-9)	#104	vs SF	Tyler Mahle (4-10)	#82
Thu, May 21st	@ STL	Dustin May (6-7)	#54	vs COL	Zach Agnos
Fri, May 22nd	@ TOR	Kevin Gausman (6-11)	#21	vs COL	Tomoyuki Sugano (12-6)	#436
Sat, May 23rd	@ TOR	Patrick Corbin (3-4)		vs COL	Michael Lorenzen (3-11)	#438
Sun, May 24th	@ TOR	Dylan Cease (7-5)	#9	vs COL	Jose Quintana (2-3)	#435
Mon, May 25th	vs CHC	Ben Brown (4-2)	#245	@ SF	Landen Roupp (7-12)	#75
Tue, May 26th	vs CHC	Jordan Wicks (0-2)	#341	@ SF	Tyler Mahle (4-10)	#82
Wed, May 27th	vs CHC	Jameson Taillon (2-6)	#222	@ SF	Trevor McDonald (3-7)
Thu, May 28th	vs CHC	Colin Rea (8-8)	#192
Fri, May 29th	vs MIN	Taj Bradley (9-5)	#55	@ SEA	George Kirby (8-9)	#22
Sat, May 30th	vs MIN	Bailey Ober (7-4)	#102	@ SEA	Bryan Woo (9-8)	#13
Sun, May 31st	vs MIN	Zebby Matthews (7-8)	#107	@ SEA	Bryce Miller (4-7)	#36
Tue, Jun 2nd	@ HOU	Mike Burrows (4-9)	#227	vs LAD	Eric Lauer (8-6)	#280
Wed, Jun 3rd	@ HOU	Spencer Arrighetti (7-5)	#257	vs LAD	Shohei Ohtani (8-2)	#1
Thu, Jun 4th	@ HOU	Kai-Wei Teng (5-6)	#225	vs LAD	Justin Wrobleski (11-5)	#176
Fri, Jun 5th	@ ATL	Martin Perez (8-7)	#267	vs WSH	Foster Griffin (14-4)	#46
Sat, Jun 6th	@ ATL	Spencer Strider (4-2)	#270	vs WSH	Zack Littell (8-8)	#197
Sun, Jun 7th	@ ATL	Bryce Elder (8-7)	#162	vs WSH	Cade Cavalli (10-5)	#44
Tue, Jun 9th	vs LAD	Eric Lauer (8-6)	#280	@ MIA	Max Meyer (9-1)	#138
Wed, Jun 10th	vs LAD	Shohei Ohtani (8-2)	#1	@ MIA	Ryan Gusto (0-3)	#179
Thu, Jun 11th	vs LAD	Justin Wrobleski (11-5)	#176	@ MIA	Tyler Phillips (3-6)	#283
Fri, Jun 12th	vs MIA	Sandy Alcantara (13-7)	#66	@ CIN	Nick Lodolo (3-2)	#98
Sat, Jun 13th	vs MIA	Lake Bachar (1-2)	#199	@ CIN	Rhett Lowder (4-8)	#178
Sun, Jun 14th	vs MIA	Max Meyer (9-1)	#138	@ CIN	Andrew Abbott (6-8)	#123
Mon, Jun 15th	@ ATH	J.T. Ginn (8-7)	#146	vs LAA	Walbert Urena (8-8)	#223
Tue, Jun 16th	@ ATH	Jack Perkins (2-9)	#114	vs LAA	Reid Detmers (4-8)	#32
Wed, Jun 17th	@ ATH	Aaron Civale (5-7)	#155	vs LAA	Sam Aldegheri (3-4)	#427
Fri, Jun 19th	@ COL	Kyle Freeland (4-10)	#329	vs MIN	Connor Prielipp (3-6)	#85
Sat, Jun 20th	@ COL	Tomoyuki Sugano (12-6)	#436	vs MIN	Taj Bradley (9-5)	#55
Sun, Jun 21st	@ COL	Michael Lorenzen (3-11)	#438	vs MIN	Mike Paredes (0-3)	#412
Tue, Jun 23rd	vs SEA	George Kirby (8-9)	#22	@ STL	Kyle Leahy (10-4)	#88
Wed, Jun 24th	vs SEA	Bryan Woo (9-8)	#13	@ STL	Matthew Liberatore (5-10)	#86
Thu, Jun 25th	vs SEA	Bryce Miller (4-7)	#36
Fri, Jun 26th	vs CIN	Andrew Abbott (6-8)	#123	@ TB	Nick Martinez (12-4)	#87
Sat, Jun 27th	vs CIN	Chase Burns (14-2)	#26	@ TB	Cole Sulser
Sun, Jun 28th	vs CIN	Brady Singer (5-11)	#175	@ TB	Drew Rasmussen (12-5)	#16
Mon, Jun 29th	@ PHI	Aaron Nola (4-9)	#58	vs SF	Tyler Mahle (4-10)	#82
Tue, Jun 30th	@ PHI	Cristopher Sanchez (16-4)	#3	vs SF	Landen Roupp (7-12)	#75
Wed, Jul 1st	@ PHI	Zack Wheeler (10-4)	#8	vs SF	Trevor McDonald (3-7)
Thu, Jul 2nd	@ PHI	Alan Rangel (0-3)	#365
Fri, Jul 3rd	@ WSH	Foster Griffin (14-4)	#46	vs MIL	Kyle Harrison (10-3)	#47
Sat, Jul 4th	@ WSH	Carson Palmquist (0-2)	#417	vs MIL	Brandon Woodruff (2-2)
Sun, Jul 5th	@ WSH	Cade Cavalli (10-5)	#44	vs MIL	Brandon Sproat (3-7)	#208
Tue, Jul 7th	vs ATL	Hurston Waldrep (0-1)		@ SD	German Marquez (4-2)	#413
Wed, Jul 8th	vs ATL	Grant Holmes (7-5)	#164	@ SD	Michael King (8-8)	#59
Thu, Jul 9th	vs ATL	Bryce Elder (8-7)	#162	@ SD	Griffin Canning (3-9)	#183
Sat, Jul 11th	vs MIL	Shane Drohan (6-4)	#142	@ LAD	Yoshinobu Yamamoto (12-7)	#12
Sun, Jul 12th	vs MIL	Robert Gasser (3-5)	#83	@ LAD	Emmet Sheehan (4-8)	#137
Sat, Jul 18th	@ CLE	Logan Allen (0-0)	#184	vs STL	Dustin May (6-7)	#54
Sun, Jul 19th	@ CLE	Joey Cantillo (9-7)	#65	vs STL	Andre Pallante (12-6)	#126
Mon, Jul 20th	@ NYY	Ryan Weathers (5-7)	#51	vs ATH	Jeffrey Springs (3-11)	#301
Wed, Jul 22nd	@ NYY	Max Fried (4-4)	#15	vs ATH	Gage Jump (5-7)	#94
Fri, Jul 24th	vs CHC	Matthew Boyd (8-2)	#53	@ WSH	Carson Palmquist (0-2)	#417
Sat, Jul 25th	vs CHC	Shota Imanaga (8-9)	#20	@ WSH	Foster Griffin (14-4)	#46
Sun, Jul 26th	vs CHC	Jameson Taillon (2-6)	#222	@ WSH	Miles Mikolas (3-9)
Mon, Jul 27th	vs ARI	Merrill Kelly (8-11)	#152	@ PIT	Mitch Keller (6-8)
Tue, Jul 28th	vs ARI	Brandon Pfaadt (7-1)	#103	@ PIT	Bubba Chandler (6-8)	#117
Wed, Jul 29th	vs ARI	Eduardo Rodriguez (12-4)	#120	@ PIT	Jared Jones (2-5)	#48
Thu, Jul 30th	@ CIN	Rhett Lowder (4-8)	#178
Fri, Jul 31st	@ CIN	Hunter Greene (2-2)		@ CLE	Tanner Bibee (4-13)	#63
Sat, Aug 1st	@ CIN	Andrew Abbott (6-8)	#123	@ CLE	Parker Messick (9-7)	#40
Sun, Aug 2nd	@ CIN	Chase Burns (14-2)	#26	@ CLE	Gavin Williams (11-7)	#25
Mon, Aug 3rd	@ MIL	Brandon Sproat (3-7)	#208	vs SD	Michael King (8-8)	#59
Tue, Aug 4th	@ MIL	Logan Henderson (7-2)	#31	vs SD	Randy Vasquez (8-6)	#284
Wed, Aug 5th	@ MIL	Kyle Harrison (10-3)	#47	vs SD	Casey Mize (5-7)	#43
Thu, Aug 6th	@ MIL	Dustin May (6-7)	#54	vs SD	Walker Buehler (7-6)	#259
Fri, Aug 7th	vs NYM	Zac Thornton (3-4)	#129	vs LAD	Roki Sasaki (5-5)	#91
Sat, Aug 8th	vs NYM	Robert Stock (0-2)	#196	vs LAD	Yoshinobu Yamamoto (12-7)	#12
Sun, Aug 9th	vs NYM	Sean Manaea (4-5)	#64	vs LAD	Justin Wrobleski (11-5)	#176
Tue, Aug 11th	@ MIA	Eury Perez (6-9)	#34	vs COL	Tomoyuki Sugano (12-6)	#436
Wed, Aug 12th	@ MIA	Janson Junk (6-8)	#99	vs COL	Ryan Feltner (5-7)	#437
Thu, Aug 13th	@ MIA	Tyler Phillips (3-6)	#283
Fri, Aug 14th	vs BOS	Jake Bennett (7-6)	#78	@ ATL	Chris Sale (12-8)	#6
Sat, Aug 15th	vs BOS	Sonny Gray (15-3)	#27	@ ATL	Grant Holmes (7-5)	#164
Sun, Aug 16th	vs BOS	Patrick Sandoval (1-2)	#97	@ ATL	Bryce Elder (8-7)	#162
Mon, Aug 17th	vs DET	Framber Valdez (8-8)	#37	@ BOS	Alec Gamboa
Tue, Aug 18th	vs DET	Keider Montero (9-8)	#127	@ BOS	Ranger Suarez (5-3)	#24
Wed, Aug 19th	vs DET	Jackson Jobe (1-1)	#253	@ BOS	Payton Tolle (8-6)	#29
Fri, Aug 21st	@ LAD	Yoshinobu Yamamoto (12-7)	#12	vs CIN	Nick Lodolo (3-2)	#98
Sat, Aug 22nd	@ LAD	Tarik Skubal (7-7)	#2	vs CIN	Rhett Lowder (4-8)	#178
Sun, Aug 23rd	@ LAD	Blake Snell (1-1)	#17	vs CIN	Andrew Abbott (6-8)	#123
Mon, Aug 24th	@ SD	Robbie Ray (11-7)	#109	vs CHC	Kevin Gausman (6-11)	#21
Tue, Aug 25th	@ SD	Michael King (8-8)	#59	vs CHC	Clay Holmes (5-5)	#72
Wed, Aug 26th	@ SD	Joe Musgrove	#74	vs CHC	Matthew Boyd (8-2)	#53
Fri, Aug 28th	@ STL	Andre Pallante (12-6)	#126	@ SF	Carson Whisenhunt (3-4)	#172
Sat, Aug 29th	@ STL			@ SF
Sun, Aug 30th	@ STL
Tue, Sep 1st	vs SF			vs PHI
Wed, Sep 2nd	vs SF			vs PHI
Thu, Sep 3rd	vs SF
Fri, Sep 4th	vs LAA			@ HOU
Sat, Sep 5th	vs LAA			@ HOU
Sun, Sep 6th	vs LAA			@ HOU
Tue, Sep 8th	@ CWS			@ KC
Wed, Sep 9th	@ CWS			@ KC
Thu, Sep 10th	@ CWS
Fri, Sep 11th	@ CHC			vs TEX
Sat, Sep 12th	@ CHC			vs TEX
Sun, Sep 13th	@ CHC			vs TEX
Tue, Sep 15th	vs MIL			vs MIA
Wed, Sep 16th	vs MIL			vs MIA
Thu, Sep 17th	vs MIL
Fri, Sep 18th	vs KC			vs NYY
Sat, Sep 19th	vs KC			vs NYY
Sun, Sep 20th	vs KC			vs NYY
Tue, Sep 22nd	vs STL			@ COL
Wed, Sep 23rd	vs STL			@ COL
Thu, Sep 24th	vs STL			@ COL
Fri, Sep 25th	@ DET			@ SD
Sat, Sep 26th	@ DET			@ SD
Sun, Sep 27th	@ DET			@ SD
Fri, Mar 27th				@ LAD	Emmet Sheehan (4-8)	#137
Thu, Apr 2nd				vs ATL	Reynaldo Lopez (4-3)	#105
Thu, Apr 9th				@ NYM	Nolan McLean (9-8)	#28
Mon, May 11th				@ TEX	Jakob Junis
Mon, May 18th				vs SF	Robbie Ray (11-7)	#109
Mon, Jun 1st				vs LAD	Emmet Sheehan (4-8)	#137
Mon, Jun 22nd				@ STL	Andre Pallante (12-6)	#126
Mon, Jul 6th				@ SD	Walker Buehler (7-6)	#259
Fri, Jul 10th				@ LAD	Kyle Hurt
Fri, Jul 17th				vs STL	Michael McGreevy (5-9)	#104
Tue, Jul 21st				vs ATH	Jack Perkins (2-9)	#114
Thu, Jul 23rd				@ STL	Michael McGreevy (5-9)	#104
Mon, Aug 10th				vs COL	Gabriel Hughes (0-4)	#360
Thu, Aug 27th				@ SF	Blade Tidwell (0-0)	#143
Mon, Aug 31st				vs PHI
Mon, Sep 7th				@ KC
Mon, Sep 14th				vs MIA

Who Should I Trade?

Esmerlyn Valdez for Ildemaro Vargas (2026)

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