Pirates call up red-hot prospect Esmerlyn Valdez, start him in right field at Toronto

TORONTO (AP) — The Pittsburgh Pirates recalled prospect Esmerlyn Valdez from Triple-A Indianapolis after a recent hot streak and had him in the lineup in right field Friday night for their game at Toronto.

Valdez, 22, hit five home runs in the last five games and was batting .355 with seven extra-base hits, 10 RBIs, a .903 slugging percentage and 1.315 OPS in his last eight.

Valdez hit .253 with 10 homers, 10 doubles and 29 RBIs in 46 games with Indianapolis this season. He also has 33 walks.

The right-handed hitter is the organization's No. 9 prospect, according to MLB Pipeline. He led Pittsburgh’s minor league system with 26 home runs last season and represented the club at the All-Star Futures Game.

Valdez was signed by Pittsburgh as a nondrafted free agent on Jan. 15, 2021.

Pittsburgh optioned outfielder Billy Cook to Indianapolis following Thursday’s game at St. Louis.

AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB

FILE - Pittsburgh Pirates' Esmerlyn Valdez plays during a spring training baseball game, Feb. 22, 2026, in Clearwater, Fla. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum, File)

DAKAR, Senegal (AP) — Senegal’s President Bassirou Diomaye Faye has fired Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko after years of simmering tension.

The decision was announced by the secretary general of the government during a late-night broadcast on Friday.

The firing caps a period of open confrontation between the two former allies from the Patriotes Africains du Sénégal pour le Travail, l’Éthique et la Fraternité (PASTEF) party who had defeated the former ruling party.

Senegal President Bassirou Diomaye Faye attends the Africa Forward Summit at the Kenyatta International Convention Centre in Nairobi, Kenya, Tuesday, May 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Brian Inganga)