The Cincinnati Reds have acquired former All-Star Santiago Espinal from the Toronto Blue Jays while infielder Matt McLain is out injured.
The Toronto Blue Jays traded former All-Star infielder Santiago Espinal to the Cincinnati Reds on Wednesday night.
In exchange, they received pitcher Chris McElvain.
The Reds issued an announcement on social media.
The #Reds have acquired IF Santiago Espinal from the Blue Jays in exchange for RHP Chris McElvain:
This change has various implications for both franchises.
1) The signing could imply that the Reds will be without infielder Matt McLain for an extended period of time. The breakout infielder from 2023 may require surgery to repair his damaged shoulder, though this is unknown for certain. However, with Noelvi Marte already out due to a PED suspension, the organization plainly felt the need for infield insurance. Perhaps McLain’s absence will not be short.
2) Espinal was plainly not in the Jays’ plans for this season. He was competing for an infield job with Cavan Biggio, Davis Schneider, and Eduardo Escobar, thus this helps to break the organization’s logjam. This could indicate that Isiah Kiner-Falefa will be the team’s third baseman, with Biggio or Schneider perhaps getting the call at second.
Espinal joined the American League All-Star team in 2022, hitting.267 with seven home runs and 51 RBIs. He played a more limited role in 2023, hitting.248 in 93 games. He had only two home runs and 25 RBIs.
McElvain was the Reds’ eighth-round choice in the 2022 MLB Draft. He is a Vanderbilt University product who has a 5-5 minor league record with a 3.75 ERA. He’s struck out 87 batters over 96.0 innings.
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