Santiago Roman Espinal (born November 13, 1994) is a Dominican professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

utility player In sports, a utility player is one who can play several positions competently. Sports in which the term is often used include association football, basketball, American football, baseball, rugby union, rugby league, softball, ice hockey, and water ...

for the

Cincinnati Reds The Cincinnati Reds are an American professional baseball team based in Cincinnati. The Reds compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central Divisi ...

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

(MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the

Toronto Blue Jays The Toronto Blue Jays are a Canadian professional baseball team based in Toronto. The Blue Jays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East Division. Since 1989, the team has p ...

. He was drafted by 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) American League East, East Division. Founded in as one of the Ameri ...

in the 10th round of the

2016 MLB draft The 2016 Major League Baseball draft began on June 9, 2016, to assign amateur baseball players to MLB teams. The draft order is the reverse order of the 2015 MLB season standings. In addition, compensation picks were distributed for players who ...

High school

Espinal was born and grew up in the

Dominican Republic The Dominican Republic is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles of the Caribbean Sea in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean. It shares a Maritime boundary, maritime border with Puerto Rico to the east and ...

until age 13, when he moved to the US. He attended Lyman High School in

Longwood, Florida Longwood is a city in Seminole County, Florida, United States. It is part of the Orlando–Kissimmee–Sanford, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 15,087 at the 2020 census. History With the advent of World War II, grow ...

for four years. He then moved to New York and graduated through

Penn Foster High School Penn Foster High School is a for-profit online high school based in Scranton, Pennsylvania, United States. The high school is regionally and nationally accredited and is the largest high school by enrollment in the United States. It offers a h ...

. Espinal attended

Seminole State College of Florida Seminole State College of Florida is a public college based in Sanford, Florida, United States. It is part of the Florida College System. History Established by the Florida Legislature in 1965 as Seminole Junior College, the school began ope ...

, and then attended

Miami Dade College Miami Dade College (MDC) is a public university, public college located in Miami, Miami, Florida, United States. Established in 1959, MDC operates eight campuses and numerous outreach centers throughout Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade Count ...

on a scholarship and played

college baseball College baseball is baseball that is played by Student athlete, student-athletes at institutions of higher education. In the United States, college baseball is sanctioned mainly by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA); in Japan, ...

for them in 2016.

Professional career

Boston Red Sox

Espinal was drafted by the

in the 10th round, 298th overall, of the

. Espinal played for the

Rookie-level Minor League Baseball (MiLB) is a professional baseball organization below Major League Baseball (MLB), constituted of teams affiliated with MLB clubs. It was founded on September 5, 1901, in response to the growing dominance of the National L ...

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 ...

in 2016, hitting .244/.330/.267 with 10

runs batted in A run batted in or runs batted in (RBI) is a statistic in baseball and softball that credits a batter for making a play that allows a run to be scored (except in certain situations such as when an error is made on the play). For example, if th ...

(RBI). He played for the Class-A

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 ...

in 2017, hitting .280/.334/.358 with four

home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the Baseball (ball), ball is hit in such a way that the batting (baseball), batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safe (baseball), safely in one play without any error ( ...

s and 46 RBI. Espinal began the 2018 season with the Advanced-A

Salem Red Sox The Salem Red Sox are a Minor League Baseball affiliate of the Boston Red Sox of Major League Baseball (MLB), based in Salem, Virginia, Salem, an independent city adjacent to Roanoke, Virginia. The team competes at the Single-A level in the Car ...

Toronto Blue Jays

On June 28, 2018, Espinal was traded to the

in exchange for Steve Pearce and cash considerations. Espinal split the remainder 2018 between the Advanced-A

Dunedin Blue Jays The Dunedin Blue Jays are a Minor League Baseball team of the Florida State League and are the Single-A affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays Major League Baseball club. They are located in Dunedin, Florida, and play their home games at TD Ballpark, ...

and the Double-A

New Hampshire Fisher Cats The New Hampshire Fisher Cats are a Minor League Baseball team based in Manchester, New Hampshire. The team, which plays in the Eastern League (1938–present), Eastern League, is the Double-A (baseball), Double-A affiliate of the Toronto Blue Ja ...

, hitting .297/.356/.444 with 10 home runs and 60 RBI between the two teams and Salem. He played for the

Surprise Saguaros The Surprise Saguaros are a baseball team that plays in the West Division of the Arizona Fall League. They play their home games in Surprise, Arizona, at Surprise Stadium. The ballpark is also the spring training facility of the Kansas City Roya ...

of the

Arizona Fall League The Arizona Fall League (AFL) is an off-season baseball league owned and operated by Major League Baseball (MLB) which operates during autumn in Arizona, United States, at six different baseball complexes. Arizona Fall League rosters are filled ...

(AFL) following the 2018 season. Espinal split the 2019 season between New Hampshire and the Triple-A

Buffalo Bisons The Buffalo Bisons (known colloquially as the Herd) are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays. Located in Buffalo, New York, the team plays their home games at Sahlen Fiel ...

, hitting a combined .287/.347/.393 with seven home runs and 71 RBI. Espinal was added to the Blue Jays 40-man roster after the 2019 season. On July 23, 2020, he was added to the Blue Jays active roster to begin the 2020 season, which had been delayed due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

. On July 25, 2020, Espinal made his MLB debut. Three days later, on July 28, Espinal got his first hit in the Major Leagues against the

Washington Nationals The Washington Nationals are an American professional baseball team based in Washington, D.C. The Nationals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East Division. They play their home games at Na ...

. Overall with the 2020 Blue Jays, Espinal batted .267 with no home runs and 6 RBIs in 26 games. On July 3, 2021, Espinal hit his first career major league home run, a two-run shot off

Tampa Bay Rays The Tampa Bay Rays are an American professional baseball team based in the Tampa Bay area. The Rays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East Division. They are one of two major ...

reliever

Matt Wisler Matthew Robert Wisler (born September 12, 1992) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He was drafted by the San Diego Padres out of high school in the seventh round of the 2011 Major League Baseball draft. He played in Major League ...

Sahlen Field Sahlen Field is a baseball park in Buffalo, New York, United States. Originally known as Pilot Field, the venue has since been named Downtown Ballpark, North AmeriCare Park, Dunn Tire Park, and Coca-Cola Field. Home to the Buffalo Bisons of t ...

in Buffalo. Overall in 2021, Espinal batted .311/.376/.405 with 2 home runs, 17 RBIs and 6 stolen bases in 92 games. He led all qualifying AL third basemen with 16 total zone runs and a 3.13

range factor Range Factor (commonly abbreviated RF) is a baseball statistic developed by Bill James. It is calculated by dividing putouts and assists by the number of innings or games played at a given defense position. The statistic is premised on the notion ...

. Espinal began the 2022 season expected to platoon at second base with

Cavan Biggio Cavan Thomas Biggio ( '; born April 11, 1995) is an American professional baseball Utility player (baseball), utility player for the Kansas City Royals of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the Toronto Blue Jays, Lo ...

but by mid-May was receiving acclaim for his impressive offensive numbers and game-changing defence while Biggio was optioned to the Triple A

after going 1-for-23 in 13 games with Toronto. Blue Jays' General Manager Ross Atkins declared Espinal "an everyday player" after he was one of only five Blue Jays' players to appear in all of Toronto's first 17 games. Espinal was selected for the 2022 All-Star Game as a replacement for

Jose Altuve Jose Carlos Altuve (; born May 6, 1990) is a Venezuelan professional baseball second baseman for the Houston Astros of Major League Baseball (MLB). Having played for the Astros since 2011, he is the longest-tenured current member of the team, an ...

. On January 13, 2023, Espinal signed a one-year, $2.1 million contract with the Blue Jays, avoiding salary arbitration. In 93 games for the Blue Jays, he batted .248/.310/.335 with two home runs and 25 RBI.

Cincinnati Reds

On March 20, 2024, the Blue Jays traded Espinal to the

in exchange for right-handed pitcher Chris McElvain.

References

External links

Miami Dade Sharks bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Espinal, Santiago 1995 births Living people American League All-Stars Baseball players from Santiago de los Caballeros Buffalo Bisons (minor league) players Cincinnati Reds players Dominican Republic expatriate baseball players in the United States Dunedin Blue Jays players Estrellas Orientales players Greenville Drive players Gulf Coast Red Sox players Major League Baseball players from the Dominican Republic 21st-century Dominican Republic sportsmen Major League Baseball infielders New Hampshire Fisher Cats players Salem Red Sox players Surprise Saguaros players Toronto Blue Jays players