Nearly six years after the Red Sox traded him, right-handed pitcher Anderson Espinoza is finally getting a major league opportunity.
Espinoza, who Boston shipped to the Padres for lefty Drew Pomeranz ahead of the 2015 trade deadline, is joining the Cubs as the 27th man for their doubleheader against the Brewers on Monday. If he appears in a game, it will be his major league debut.
Espinoza was widely regarded as one of the top prospects in Boston’s system (and all of baseball) after receiving a $1.8 million signing bonus out of Venezuela in Oct. 2014. After a strong showing in his first two professional seasons, he was shipped to the Padres as the Red Sox looked to fortify their rotation down the stretch in 2016. Shortly into Espinoza’s San Diego tenure was when injury issues took hold. He underwent two Tommy John surgeries -- in July 2017 and April 2019 -- and not appear in a regular season game between 2016 and 2021. He was traded to the Cubs for outfielder Jake Marisnick at last year’s trade deadline and has spent this season at Double-A, where he owns a 7.31 ERA with 36 strikeouts in 28.1 innings over eight starts.
Espinoza was previously ranked among the very best prospects in the game. Baseball America had him slotted as their No 19 overall prospect entering the 2016 season and the No. 21 overall prospect before 2017.
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