Santiago Espinal

Santiago Roman Espinal (born November 13, 1994) is a Dominican professional baseball infielder in the Arizona Diamondbacks organization. He has previously played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Toronto Blue Jays, Cincinnati Reds, and Los Angeles Dodgers. He was drafted by the Boston Red Sox in the 10th round of the 2016 MLB draft.

Amateur career Espinal was born and grew up in the Dominican Republic until age 13, when he moved to the US. He attended Lyman High School in Longwood, Florida for four years.

Espinal played for the Rookie-level Gulf Coast League Red Sox in 2016, hitting a .244/.330/.267 slash line with 10 runs batted in (RBI). He played for the Single-A Greenville Drive in 2017, hitting .280/.334/.358 with four home runs and 46 RBI. He split the remainder of 2018 between the High-A Dunedin Blue Jays and the Double-A New Hampshire Fisher Cats, hitting .297/.356/.444 with 10 home runs and 60 RBI between the two teams and Salem. Espinal played for the Surprise Saguaros of the Arizona Fall League (AFL) following the 2018 season.

Espinal split the 2019 season between New Hampshire and the Triple-A Buffalo Bisons, 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 and 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. On July 25, 2020, he made his MLB debut as the starting third baseman against the Tampa Bay Rays, going hitless in two at-bats. Three days later, on July 28, Espinal got his first hit in the Major Leagues off of the Washington Nationals' Sam Freeman. He made 26 appearances for the Blue Jays during his rookie campaign, hitting .267 with no home runs and six RBI in 26 games.

On July 3, 2021, Espinal hit his first career major league home run, a two-run shot off Rays reliever Matt Wisler at Sahlen Field in Buffalo. Overall in 2021, Espinal batted .311/.376/.405 with two home runs, 17 RBI, and six stolen bases in 92 games. 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. He was selected for the 2022 All-Star Game as a replacement for Jose Altuve. In 135 games, he batted .267/.322/.370

On January 13, 2023, Espinal signed a one-year, $2.1 million contract with the Blue Jays, avoiding salary arbitration. In 93 games during the 2023 season, he batted .248/.310/.335 with two home runs and 25 RBI. He had two hits in two at-bats in the 2023 American League Wild Card Series as well.

Cincinnati Reds On March 20, 2024, the Blue Jays traded Espinal to the Cincinnati Reds in exchange for right-handed pitcher Chris McElvain. He made 118 appearances for the Reds during the regular season, slashing .246/.295/.356 with nine home runs, 45 RBI, and 11 stolen bases.

Espinal played in 114 games for Cincinnati during the 2025 campaign, batting .243/.292/.282 with no home runs, 16 RBI, and two stolen bases. On October 31, he was removed from the 40-man roster and sent outright to the Triple-A Louisville Bats; he rejected the assignment and elected free agency the following day.

Los Angeles Dodgers On February 16, 2026, Espinal signed a minor league contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers. On March 19, the Dodgers selected his contract and added him to their 40-man roster. He played in 26 games for Los Angeles Espinal cleared waivers and was sent outright to Triple-A, after which he subsequently elected free agency. However, the following day, Espinal re-signed with the Dodgers on a major league contract. He was again designated for assignment on June 16 after appearing in 10 more games. Between his two stints in Los Angeles, Espinal batted .268 with one home run and seven RBI.

Texas Rangers On July 2, 2026, Espinal signed a minor league contract with the Texas Rangers and was subsequently assigned to the Triple-A Round Rock Express. In 11 appearances for Round Rock, he batted .262/.333/.310 with six RBI and four stolen bases. Espinal was released by the Rangers organization on July 29.

Arizona Diamondbacks On August 20, 2026, Espinal signed a minor league contract with the Arizona Diamondbacks.