Who Should I Trade?

Esmerlyn Valdez for Kyle Manzardo (2026)

Summary
Stats
Projections
News & Notes
Schedule

Who Should I Trade? Player Summaries
	Experts' Pick
	Esmerlyn Valdez 1B,LF,RF - PIT	Kyle Manzardo 1B,DH - CLE
Expert Recommendation	80% Recommended by 4 of 5 experts	20% Recommended by 1 of 5 experts
Rankings

Rest of Season	# 166	# 244
VBR	# 222	# 1162

Projections

Runs	16	5
Home Runs	6	2
RBI	18	5
Stolen Bases	0	0
Batting Average	.234	.229

Misc

Injury Alert	-	MiLB

Expert Ranks

Scott Pianowski Yahoo! Sports	# 115	# 267

Chris Welsh FantasyPros	# 97	‐

Kelly Kirby FantasyPros	# 161	# 203

Kevin Spinelli KevScores	# 128	# 378

Mike Maher BettingPros	‐	# 195

Who Should I Trade? Player Statistics
	Esmerlyn Valdez 1B,LF,RF - PIT	Kyle Manzardo 1B,DH - CLE
2026 Stats


At Bats	161	312

Runs	28	40

Hits	39	66

Singles	15	42

Doubles	9	10

Triples	1	1

Home Runs	14	13

RBI	38	38

Stolen Bases	0	0

Caught Stealing	1	0

Walks	33	36

Strikeouts	73	114

Batting Average	.242	.212

On Base Pct	.371	.303

Slugging Pct	.571	.375

On-base Plus Slugging	.942	.678

Who Should I Trade? Player Projections
	Esmerlyn Valdez 1B,LF,RF - PIT	Kyle Manzardo 1B,DH - CLE
2026 Projections


At Bats	121	36

Runs	16	5

Hits	28	8

Singles	17	5

Doubles	6	2

Triples	0	0

Home Runs	6	2

RBI	18	5

Stolen Bases	0	0

Caught Stealing	0	0

Walks	15	4

Strikeouts	41	10

Batting Average	.234	.229

On Base Pct	.326	.312

Slugging Pct	.428	.429

On-base Plus Slugging	.754	.740

Who Should I Trade? Player Notes
	Esmerlyn Valdez 1B,LF,RF - PIT	Kyle Manzardo 1B,DH - CLE
News
	Esmerlyn Valdez is expected to be in the lineup in Tuesday's game against the Diamondbacks. Ari Koslow Tue, Jul 28th	The Guardians optioned Kyle Manzardo to Triple-A Columbus. Ari Koslow Mon, Aug 3rd
	The Pirates didn’t provide an update on Esmerlyn Valdez following Monday’s game against the Diamondbacks. Ari Koslow Tue, Jul 28th	Kyle Manzardo went 1-for-3 in Wednesday's 6-1 win over the Reds with a two-run home run, a run scored, two RBI, two walks, and one strikeout. Matthew Adam Thu, Jul 30th
	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	Kyle Manzardo went 1-for-3 with a grand slam in a 6-5 win over the Reds in Game 1 of a Tuesday doubleheader. He went 0-for-1 in the nightcap. Matthew Adam Wed, Jul 29th
	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	Kyle Manzardo went 3-for-5 in Wednesday’s loss to the Twins with a home run, one double, two runs scored, and two RBI. Chris Schommer Thu, Jul 23rd
	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	Kyle Manzardo went 1-for-3 in Tuesday's loss to the Rangers with a home run, one run scored, and two RBI. Matthew Adam Wed, Jul 1st
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			Kyle Manzardo 1B,DH - CLE
Thu, Mar 26th	@ NYM	Freddy Peralta (5-9)	#44	@ SEA	Logan Gilbert (8-7)	#11
Sat, Mar 28th	@ NYM	David Peterson (6-7)	#117	@ SEA	Bryan Woo (8-8)	#13
Sun, Mar 29th	@ NYM	Nolan McLean (8-7)	#29	@ SEA	Emerson Hancock (6-7)	#73
Mon, Mar 30th	@ CIN	Chase Burns (13-2)	#21	@ LAD	Roki Sasaki (5-5)	#90
Tue, Mar 31st	@ CIN	Brandon Williamson (2-3)	#416	@ LAD	Shohei Ohtani (8-2)	#1
Wed, Apr 1st	@ CIN	Andrew Abbott (6-7)	#93	@ LAD	Yoshinobu Yamamoto (11-7)	#10
Fri, Apr 3rd	vs BAL	Kyle Bradish (7-11)	#43	vs CHC	Cade Horton (1-0)
Sat, Apr 4th	vs BAL	Shane Baz (4-11)	#68
Sun, Apr 5th	vs BAL	Chris Bassitt (4-4)	#177	vs CHC	Shota Imanaga (8-9)	#20
Mon, Apr 6th	vs SD	German Marquez (4-2)	#329	vs KC	Michael Wacha (5-8)	#71
Tue, Apr 7th	vs SD	Nick Pivetta (1-2)	#82	vs KC	Noah Cameron (6-8)	#70
Wed, Apr 8th	vs SD	Michael King (7-8)	#54	vs KC	Cole Ragans (1-4)
Fri, Apr 10th	@ CHC	Shota Imanaga (8-9)	#20	@ ATL	Bryce Elder (8-7)	#165
Sat, Apr 11th	@ CHC	Edward Cabrera (5-4)	#88	@ ATL	Martin Perez (7-6)	#209
Sun, Apr 12th	@ CHC	Jameson Taillon (2-6)	#146	@ ATL	Chris Sale (12-7)	#6
Mon, Apr 13th	vs WSH	Cade Cavalli (9-5)	#66	@ STL	Matthew Liberatore (5-9)	#95
Tue, Apr 14th	vs WSH	PJ Poulin (3-0)	#361	@ STL	Michael McGreevy (4-9)	#99
Wed, Apr 15th	vs WSH	Jake Irvin (2-5)	#162	@ STL	Dustin May (6-7)	#47
Thu, Apr 16th	vs WSH	Foster Griffin (12-4)	#56	vs BAL	Shane Baz (4-11)	#68
Fri, Apr 17th	vs TB	Nick Martinez (11-3)	#78	vs BAL	Chris Bassitt (4-4)	#177
Sat, Apr 18th	vs TB	Drew Rasmussen (11-5)	#15	vs BAL	Dean Kremer (2-4)	#98
Sun, Apr 19th	vs TB	Shane McClanahan (9-6)	#63	vs BAL	Trevor Rogers (7-8)	#62
Tue, Apr 21st	@ TEX	Kumar Rocker (4-9)	#92	vs HOU	Ryan Weiss (0-3)	#371
Wed, Apr 22nd	@ TEX	Jack Leiter (3-7)	#113	vs HOU	Peter Lambert (8-6)	#141
Thu, Apr 23rd	@ TEX	Jacob deGrom (8-7)	#9
Fri, Apr 24th	@ MIL	Brandon Woodruff (2-2)		@ TOR	Max Scherzer (1-4)	#127
Sat, Apr 25th	@ MIL	Jacob Misiorowski (11-5)	#7	@ TOR	Kevin Gausman (6-10)	#24
Sun, Apr 26th	@ MIL	Kyle Harrison (9-2)	#48	@ TOR	Patrick Corbin (3-4)
Mon, Apr 27th	vs STL	Dustin May (6-7)	#47	vs TB	Steven Matz (5-4)	#174
Tue, Apr 28th	vs STL	Kyle Leahy (8-4)	#105	vs TB	Nick Martinez (11-3)	#78
Wed, Apr 29th	vs STL	Andre Pallante (12-6)	#134	vs TB	Drew Rasmussen (11-5)	#15
Thu, Apr 30th	vs STL	Hunter Dobbins (2-3)	#163
Fri, May 1st	vs CIN	Brady Singer (5-11)	#136	@ ATH	J.T. Ginn (8-6)	#157
Sat, May 2nd	vs CIN	Rhett Lowder (4-7)	#189	@ ATH	Jacob Lopez (5-4)	#181
Sun, May 3rd	vs CIN	Chase Burns (13-2)	#21	@ ATH	Aaron Civale (5-7)	#175
Tue, May 5th	@ ARI	Eduardo Rodriguez (11-4)	#103	@ KC	Stephen Kolek (4-3)
Wed, May 6th	@ ARI	Michael Soroka (8-3)	#53	@ KC	Cole Ragans (1-4)
Thu, May 7th	@ ARI	Zac Gallen (3-9)	#235	@ KC	Seth Lugo (5-7)	#149
Fri, May 8th	@ SF	Robbie Ray (10-7)	#79	vs MIN	Connor Prielipp (3-5)	#83
Sat, May 9th	@ SF	Landen Roupp (7-11)	#59	vs MIN	Joe Ryan (6-8)	#60
Sun, May 10th	@ SF	Tyler Mahle (3-9)	#89	vs MIN	Andrew Morris (4-3)	#151
Tue, May 12th	vs COL	Michael Lorenzen (3-10)	#434	vs LAA	Walbert Urena (7-8)	#263
Wed, May 13th	vs COL	Jose Quintana (2-3)	#425	vs LAA	Reid Detmers (3-8)	#31
Thu, May 14th	vs COL	Chase Dollander (3-3)
Fri, May 15th	vs PHI	Aaron Nola (3-9)	#51	vs CIN	Andrew Abbott (6-7)	#93
Sat, May 16th	vs PHI	Cristopher Sanchez (15-4)	#4	vs CIN	Chris Paddack (0-7)
Sun, May 17th	vs PHI	Zack Wheeler (10-3)	#5	vs CIN	Brady Singer (5-11)	#136
Tue, May 19th	@ STL	Matthew Liberatore (5-9)	#95	@ DET	Keider Montero (8-7)	#148
Wed, May 20th	@ STL	Michael McGreevy (4-9)	#99	@ DET	Drew Anderson (4-4)	#77
Thu, May 21st	@ STL	Dustin May (6-7)	#47	@ DET	Casey Mize (4-7)	#34
Fri, May 22nd	@ TOR	Kevin Gausman (6-10)	#24	@ PHI	Cristopher Sanchez (15-4)	#4
Sat, May 23rd	@ TOR	Patrick Corbin (3-4)		@ PHI	Zack Wheeler (10-3)	#5
Sun, May 24th	@ TOR	Dylan Cease (7-5)	#8	@ PHI	Andrew Painter (2-8)	#199
Mon, May 25th	vs CHC	Ben Brown (4-2)	#227	vs WSH	PJ Poulin (3-0)	#361
Tue, May 26th	vs CHC	Jordan Wicks (0-2)	#326	vs WSH	Cade Cavalli (9-5)	#66
Wed, May 27th	vs CHC	Jameson Taillon (2-6)	#146	vs WSH	PJ Poulin (3-0)	#361
Thu, May 28th	vs CHC	Colin Rea (8-8)	#230
Fri, May 29th	vs MIN	Taj Bradley (9-4)	#45	vs BOS	Tyler Samaniego
Sat, May 30th	vs MIN	Bailey Ober (7-3)	#104	vs BOS	Sonny Gray (14-3)	#28
Sun, May 31st	vs MIN	Zebby Matthews (5-8)	#109	vs BOS	Ranger Suarez (4-3)	#22
Tue, Jun 2nd	@ HOU	Mike Burrows (4-9)	#243	@ NYY	Cam Schlittler (10-6)	#16
Wed, Jun 3rd	@ HOU	Spencer Arrighetti (7-5)	#284	@ NYY	Gerrit Cole (6-5)	#26
Thu, Jun 4th	@ HOU	Kai-Wei Teng (5-6)	#233	@ NYY	Carlos Rodon (4-2)	#76
Fri, Jun 5th	@ ATL	Martin Perez (7-6)	#209	@ TEX	Kumar Rocker (4-9)	#92
Sat, Jun 6th	@ ATL	Spencer Strider (4-2)		@ TEX	Jack Leiter (3-7)	#113
Sun, Jun 7th	@ ATL	Bryce Elder (8-7)	#165	@ TEX	Jacob deGrom (8-7)	#9
Tue, Jun 9th	vs LAD	Eric Lauer (6-6)	#345	vs NYY	Gerrit Cole (6-5)	#26
Wed, Jun 10th	vs LAD	Shohei Ohtani (8-2)	#1	vs NYY	Carlos Rodon (4-2)	#76
Thu, Jun 11th	vs LAD	Justin Wrobleski (11-4)	#107
Fri, Jun 12th	vs MIA	Sandy Alcantara (13-6)	#52	vs DET	Jack Flaherty (3-8)	#86
Sat, Jun 13th	vs MIA	Lake Bachar (1-2)	#187	vs DET	Tarik Skubal (7-6)	#2
Sun, Jun 14th	vs MIA	Max Meyer (9-1)	#135
Mon, Jun 15th	@ ATH	J.T. Ginn (8-6)	#157
Tue, Jun 16th	@ ATH	Jack Perkins (2-8)	#121	@ MIL	Robert Gasser (3-4)	#133
Wed, Jun 17th	@ ATH	Aaron Civale (5-7)	#175	@ MIL	Brandon Sproat (3-7)	#204
Fri, Jun 19th	@ COL	Kyle Freeland (3-10)	#379	@ HOU	Tatsuya Imai (6-4)	#119
Sat, Jun 20th	@ COL	Tomoyuki Sugano (11-5)	#435	@ HOU	Spencer Arrighetti (7-5)	#284
Sun, Jun 21st	@ COL	Michael Lorenzen (3-10)	#434	@ HOU	Kai-Wei Teng (5-6)	#233
Tue, Jun 23rd	vs SEA	George Kirby (8-9)	#23	@ CWS	Sean Burke (7-6)	#72
Wed, Jun 24th	vs SEA	Bryan Woo (8-8)	#13	@ CWS	Chris Murphy
Thu, Jun 25th	vs SEA	Bryce Miller (4-6)	#32
Fri, Jun 26th	vs CIN	Andrew Abbott (6-7)	#93	vs SEA	Luis Castillo (3-9)	#91
Sat, Jun 27th	vs CIN	Chase Burns (13-2)	#21	vs SEA	Logan Gilbert (8-7)	#11
Sun, Jun 28th	vs CIN	Brady Singer (5-11)	#136	vs SEA	Emerson Hancock (6-7)	#73
Mon, Jun 29th	@ PHI	Aaron Nola (3-9)	#51	vs TEX	Tyler Alexander (3-2)	#161
Tue, Jun 30th	@ PHI	Cristopher Sanchez (15-4)	#4	vs TEX	Jacob deGrom (8-7)	#9
Wed, Jul 1st	@ PHI	Zack Wheeler (10-3)	#5	vs TEX	MacKenzie Gore (6-9)	#33
Thu, Jul 2nd	@ PHI	Alan Rangel (0-3)	#267	vs CWS	Davis Martin (9-6)	#108
Fri, Jul 3rd	@ WSH	Foster Griffin (12-4)	#56	vs CWS	Anthony Kay (9-5)	#180
Sat, Jul 4th	@ WSH	Carson Palmquist (0-2)	#404	vs CWS	Sean Burke (7-6)	#72
Sun, Jul 5th	@ WSH	Cade Cavalli (9-5)	#66	vs CWS	Chris Murphy
Tue, Jul 7th	vs ATL	Hurston Waldrep (0-1)		@ MIN	Taj Bradley (9-4)	#45
Wed, Jul 8th	vs ATL	Grant Holmes (7-4)	#176	@ MIN	Connor Prielipp (3-5)	#83
Thu, Jul 9th	vs ATL	Bryce Elder (8-7)	#165	@ MIN	Bailey Ober (7-3)	#104
Sat, Jul 11th	vs MIL	Shane Drohan (6-4)	#94	@ MIA	Eury Perez (5-9)	#42
Sun, Jul 12th	vs MIL	Robert Gasser (3-4)	#133	@ MIA	Tyler Phillips (3-5)	#273
Sat, Jul 18th	@ CLE	Logan Allen (0-0)	#191	vs PIT	Mason Montgomery (4-3)	#87
Sun, Jul 19th	@ CLE	Joey Cantillo (8-7)	#74	vs PIT	Paul Skenes (9-10)	#3
Mon, Jul 20th	@ NYY	Ryan Weathers (5-7)	#58	vs MIN	Joe Ryan (6-8)	#60
Wed, Jul 22nd	@ NYY	Max Fried (4-3)	#14	vs MIN	Bailey Ober (7-3)	#104
Fri, Jul 24th	vs CHC	Matthew Boyd (8-1)	#38	@ TB	Shane McClanahan (9-6)	#63
Sat, Jul 25th	vs CHC	Shota Imanaga (8-9)	#20	@ TB	Nick Martinez (11-3)	#78
Sun, Jul 26th	vs CHC	Jameson Taillon (2-6)	#146	@ TB	Drew Rasmussen (11-5)	#15
Mon, Jul 27th	vs ARI	Merrill Kelly (8-9)	#118
Tue, Jul 28th	vs ARI	Brandon Pfaadt (6-1)	#80	@ CIN	Caleb Ferguson
Wed, Jul 29th	vs ARI	Eduardo Rodriguez (11-4)	#103	@ CIN	Brady Singer (5-11)	#136
Thu, Jul 30th	@ CIN	Rhett Lowder (4-7)	#189
Fri, Jul 31st	@ CIN	Hunter Greene (2-2)		vs ARI	Mitch Bratt (1-1)	#166
Sat, Aug 1st	@ CIN	Andrew Abbott (6-7)	#93	vs ARI	Kohl Drake (0-1)	#279
Sun, Aug 2nd	@ CIN	Chase Burns (13-2)	#21	vs ARI	Merrill Kelly (8-9)	#118
Mon, Aug 3rd	@ MIL	Brandon Sproat (3-7)	#204
Tue, Aug 4th	@ MIL	Logan Henderson (6-2)	#41	vs NYM	Sean Manaea (4-5)	#64
Wed, Aug 5th	@ MIL	Kyle Harrison (9-2)	#48	vs NYM	Christian Scott (3-3)	#39
Thu, Aug 6th	@ MIL	Dustin May (6-7)	#47	vs NYM	Nolan McLean (8-7)	#29
Fri, Aug 7th	vs NYM	Zac Thornton (3-2)	#138	@ CWS	Noah Schultz (3-9)	#283
Sat, Aug 8th	vs NYM	Robert Stock (0-2)	#207	@ CWS	Anthony Kay (9-5)	#180
Sun, Aug 9th	vs NYM	Sean Manaea (4-5)	#64	@ CWS	Davis Martin (9-6)	#108
Tue, Aug 11th	@ MIA	Eury Perez (5-9)	#42	@ DET	Drew Anderson (4-4)	#77
Wed, Aug 12th	@ MIA	Janson Junk (5-7)	#110	@ DET	Framber Valdez (7-7)	#36
Thu, Aug 13th	@ MIA	Tyler Phillips (3-5)	#273	@ DET	Keider Montero (8-7)	#148
Fri, Aug 14th	vs BOS	Jake Bennett (7-5)	#84	vs SD	Michael King (7-8)	#54
Sat, Aug 15th	vs BOS	Sonny Gray (14-3)	#28	vs SD	Randy Vasquez (8-6)	#320
Sun, Aug 16th	vs BOS	Patrick Sandoval (1-0)	#124	vs SD	Casey Mize (4-7)	#34
Mon, Aug 17th	vs DET	Framber Valdez (7-7)	#36
Tue, Aug 18th	vs DET	Keider Montero (8-7)	#148	vs SF	Carson Whisenhunt (2-3)	#169
Wed, Aug 19th	vs DET	Jackson Jobe (1-0)	#160	vs SF	Adrian Houser (3-7)	#194
Fri, Aug 21st	@ LAD			@ COL
Sat, Aug 22nd	@ LAD			@ COL
Sun, Aug 23rd	@ LAD			@ COL
Mon, Aug 24th	@ SD			@ LAA
Tue, Aug 25th	@ SD			@ LAA
Wed, Aug 26th	@ SD			@ LAA
Fri, Aug 28th	@ STL			vs KC
Sat, Aug 29th	@ STL			vs KC
Sun, Aug 30th	@ STL			vs KC
Tue, Sep 1st	vs SF			vs TOR
Wed, Sep 2nd	vs SF			vs TOR
Thu, Sep 3rd	vs SF			vs TOR
Fri, Sep 4th	vs LAA			vs DET
Sat, Sep 5th	vs LAA			vs DET
Sun, Sep 6th	vs LAA			vs DET
Tue, Sep 8th	@ CWS			@ BAL
Wed, Sep 9th	@ CWS			@ BAL
Thu, Sep 10th	@ CWS
Fri, Sep 11th	@ CHC			@ MIN
Sat, Sep 12th	@ CHC			@ MIN
Sun, Sep 13th	@ CHC			@ MIN
Tue, Sep 15th	vs MIL			vs CWS
Wed, Sep 16th	vs MIL			vs CWS
Thu, Sep 17th	vs MIL
Fri, Sep 18th	vs KC			vs ATH
Sat, Sep 19th	vs KC			vs ATH
Sun, Sep 20th	vs KC			vs ATH
Tue, Sep 22nd	vs STL			@ BOS
Wed, Sep 23rd	vs STL			@ BOS
Thu, Sep 24th	vs STL			@ BOS
Fri, Sep 25th	@ DET			@ KC
Sat, Sep 26th	@ DET			@ KC
Sun, Sep 27th	@ DET			@ KC
Fri, Mar 27th				@ SEA	George Kirby (8-9)	#23
Mon, Apr 20th				vs HOU	Spencer Arrighetti (7-5)	#284
Mon, May 4th				@ KC	Michael Wacha (5-8)	#71
Mon, May 11th				vs LAA	Brent Suter (1-2)	#198
Mon, May 18th				@ DET	Framber Valdez (7-7)	#36
Mon, Jun 8th				vs NYY	Will Warren (8-6)	#65
Thu, Jun 18th				@ MIL	Shane Drohan (6-4)	#94
Mon, Jun 22nd				@ CWS	Anthony Kay (9-5)	#180
Fri, Jul 10th				@ MIA	Sandy Alcantara (13-6)	#52
Tue, Jul 21st				vs MIN	Kendry Rojas (1-1)	#206
Thu, Jul 23rd				vs MIN	Taj Bradley (9-4)	#45
Thu, Aug 20th				vs SF	Landen Roupp (7-11)	#59
Mon, Sep 7th				@ BAL
Mon, Sep 14th				vs CWS

Who Should I Trade?

Esmerlyn Valdez for Kyle Manzardo (2026)

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