Anderson José Espinoza (born March 9, 1998) is a Venezuelan

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Modern professiona ...

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or dr ...

in the

San Diego Padres The San Diego Padres are an American professional baseball team based in San Diego. The Padres compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1969, the club has won two NL penn ...

organization. Espinoza pitched in the

farm system In sports, a farm team, farm system, feeder team, feeder club, or nursery club is generally a team or club whose role is to provide experience and training for young players, with an agreement that any successful players can move on to a higher ...

of the

Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Founded in as one of the American League's eight ...

before being acquired by the

in July 2016. He underwent

Tommy John surgery Ulnar collateral ligament reconstruction, colloquially known as Tommy John surgery (TJS), is a surgical graft procedure where the ulnar collateral ligament in the medial elbow is replaced with either a tendon from elsewhere in the patient's ...

in both 2017 and 2019, and did not return to game action until May 2021. He was traded to the

Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as part of the National League (NL) Central division. The club plays its home games at Wrigley Field, which is locate ...

that July. Espinoza is listed at and , and he throws and bats right-handed..

Scouting report

According to baseball scouts, at age 17 Espinoza featured a solid three-pitch mix and had advanced pitchability, repeating his delivery and throwing strikes much more easily than a typical pitcher of that age. He had been throwing his

fastball The fastball is the most common type of pitch thrown by pitchers in baseball and softball. " Power pitchers," such as former American major leaguers Nolan Ryan and Roger Clemens, rely on speed to prevent the ball from being hit, and have thr ...

in the low 90s and topping out at , with potential to throw even harder as he grows. His secondary pitches included a sharp

curveball In baseball and softball, the curveball is a type of pitch thrown with a characteristic grip and hand movement that imparts forward spin to the ball, causing it to dive as it approaches the plate. Varieties of curveball include the 12–6 curv ...

in the range and a sinking

changeup A changeup is a type of pitch in baseball and fastpitch softball. The changeup is a staple off-speed pitch often used in a pitcher's arsenal, usually thrown to look like a fastball but arriving much more slowly to the plate. Its reduced speed ...

as his third option. His arm was quick, and he delivered his pitches with clean mechanics and a minimum of effort.

Professional career

Espinoza was signed by the

as an international free agent in October 2014, receiving a reported bonus of $1.8 million plus $200,000 in scholarship money. Additionally, Espinoza was ''

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''’s fourth-ranked international amateur prospect and top-ranked pitcher, while grabbing the number 10 spot on MLB.com’s list.

Boston Red Sox

Espinoza joined the Dominican Summer League Red Sox 2 on June 1, 2015. He made quick work of that circuit, allowing only two

earned runs In baseball, an earned run is any run that was fully enabled by the offensive team's production in the face of competent play from the defensive team. Conversely, an unearned run is a run that would not have been scored without the aid of an erro ...

on 13 hits and two walks for a 1.20 ERA, while striking out 21 batters in 15 innings. In addition to a strong statistical performance, his fastball was reported to touch sometimes. He then earned a promotion to the rookie level

Gulf Coast League Red Sox The Florida Complex League Red Sox are a professional baseball team competing in the rookie-level Florida Complex League (FCL) of Minor League Baseball. The team is owned and operated by the Boston Red Sox of Major League Baseball (MLB). Prior ...

late in the month. Instead of finding himself challenged, Espinoza was even more dominant there, giving up just three earned runs in 40 innings, good for a 0.68 ERA to go with a .170

opponents batting average In baseball statistics, batting average against (denoted by BAA or AVG), also known as opponents' batting average (denoted by OBA), is a statistic that measures a pitcher's ability to prevent hits during official at bats. It can alternatively be ...

and 40 strikeouts against nine walks, helping the GCL Red Sox clinch their second title in a row. The precocious right-hander completed his third level of the season with his promotion to the

Low-A Class A, also known as Single-A and sometimes as Low-A, is the fourth-highest level of play in Minor League Baseball in the United States, below Triple-A, Double-A, and High-A. There are 30 teams classified at the Single-A level, one for each ...

Greenville Drive The Greenville Drive are a Minor League Baseball team based in Greenville, South Carolina. They are the High-A affiliate of the Boston Red Sox and are a member of the South Atlantic League. They play their home games at Fluor Field at the West E ...

, and made his first pitching appearance on September 5. With his debut, Espinoza became the first pitcher in his age 17 season to make a start in the full-season Class A

South Atlantic League The South Atlantic League, often informally called the Sally League, is a Minor League Baseball league with teams predominantly in states along the Atlantic coast of the United States from New York to Georgia. A Class A league for most of its ...

since 2006, when

Deolis Guerra Deolis Alexander Guerra (born April 17, 1989) is a Venezuelan professional baseball pitcher in the Oakland Athletics organization. He has previously played for the Milwaukee Brewers, Pittsburgh Pirates, Los Angeles Angels, Philadelphia Phillies ...

did it for the

New York Mets The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. They are one of two major lea ...

affiliate

Hagerstown Suns The Hagerstown Suns were a Minor League Baseball team based in Hagerstown, Maryland. They were a member of the South Atlantic League and, from 2007 through 2020, were the Class A affiliate of the Washington Nationals. They played their home ga ...

. In 15 starts between three levels, Espinoza posted a 1.23 ERA with 0.99

WHIP A whip is a tool or weapon designed to strike humans or other animals to exert control through pain compliance or fear of pain. They can also be used without inflicting pain, for audiovisual cues, such as in equestrianism. They are generally ...

while striking out 65 in innings. He was kept on a strict four-inning limit per game. Espinoza opened the 2016 season with Greenville.

San Diego Padres

On July 14, 2016, the Red Sox traded Espinoza to the

in exchange for pitcher

Drew Pomeranz Thomas Andrew "Drew" Pomeranz (born November 22, 1988), nicknamed Big Smooth, is an American professional baseball pitcher for the San Diego Padres of Major League Baseball (MLB). He previously played for the Colorado Rockies, Oakland Athletics, ...

. The Padres assigned Espinoza to the Class A

Fort Wayne TinCaps The Fort Wayne TinCaps are a Minor League Baseball team of the Midwest League and the High-A affiliate of the San Diego Padres. They are located in Fort Wayne, Indiana, and play their home games at Parkview Field. They won their lone Midwest Le ...

. He finished 2016 with a 6–11 record with a 4.49 ERA. Espinoza started the 2017 season on the disabled list with an elbow injury. On July 28, 2017, he was diagnosed with a torn

ulnar collateral ligament Ulnar collateral ligament (or UCL), may refer to: * Ulnar carpal collateral ligament * Ulnar collateral ligament of elbow joint The ulnar collateral ligament (UCL) or internal lateral ligament is a thick triangular ligament at the medial aspec ...

in his pitching elbow. He underwent

which sidelined him for the remainder of the 2017 season and the entire 2018 season. The Padres added Espinoza to their 40-man roster after the 2018 season. Espinoza underwent a second Tommy John surgery on April 22, 2019, and missed the entire 2019 season. He also did not play in 2020, as the minor league season was cancelled due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...

. In early May 2021, Espinoza appeared in a regular-season game for the first time since 2016, pitching two scoreless innings for Fort Wayne.

Chicago Cubs

On July 30, 2021, Espinoza was traded to the

in exchange for

Jake Marisnick Jacob Shawn Marisnick (born March 30, 1991) is an American professional baseball outfielder in the Chicago White Sox organization. He has previously played in MLB for the Chicago Cubs, Miami Marlins, Houston Astros, New York Mets, San Diego Padr ...

. He was assigned to the

South Bend Cubs The South Bend Cubs are a Minor League Baseball team of the Midwest League and the High-A affiliate of the Chicago Cubs. They are located in South Bend, Indiana, and play their home games at Four Winds Field at Coveleski Stadium. The team was o ...

, but was eventually promoted to the

Tennessee Smokies The Tennessee Smokies are a Minor League Baseball team based in Kodak, Tennessee, a suburb of Knoxville. The team, which plays in the Southern League, is the Double-A affiliate of the Chicago Cubs. They play at Smokies Stadium, directly off ...

. On May 30, 2022, he was called up to the MLB and made his debut later that day. He elected free agency on November 10, 2022.

San Diego Padres (second stint)

On December 12, 2022. Espinoza signed a minor league deal with an invitation to spring training with the

. https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2022/12/padres-anderson-espinoza-agree-to-minor-league-deal.html

Sources

External links

, o
MiLB.com
o

{{DEFAULTSORT:Espinoza, Anderson 1998 births Living people Chicago Cubs players Dominican Summer League Red Sox players Fort Wayne TinCaps players Greenville Drive players Gulf Coast Red Sox players Major League Baseball pitchers Major League Baseball players from Venezuela South Bend Cubs players Baseball players from Caracas Tennessee Smokies players Venezuelan expatriate baseball players in the United States Venezuelan expatriate baseball players in the Dominican Republic