Blue Jays trade Espinal to Reds

The Toronto Blue Jays have traded infielder Santiago Espinal to the Cincinnati Reds for right-handed pitcher Chris McElvain.

March 20, 2024

Official Toronto Blue Jays News Release

The Toronto Blue Jays have acquired RHP Chris McElvain from the Cincinnati Reds in exchange for INF Santiago Espinal.

McElvain, 23, split the 2023 season between the Reds’ Single-A team in Daytona and their High-A squad in Dayton, combining to appear in 23 games (19 starts) while going 5-5 with a 3.75 ERA and a 1.31 WHIP. The Columbia, Tenn., native was selected by the Reds in the eighth round of the 2022 First-Year Player Draft after spending three seasons at Vanderbilt University. The 6-foot, 205-pound righty appeared in 44 games (17 starts) for the Commodores, posting a 4.84 ERA with 165 strikeouts over 141 1/3 innings.

Espinal, 29, appeared in 93 games for the Blue Jays in 2023, batting .248 with 16 extra-base hits and 25 RBIs. Originally a 10th-round pick of the Boston Red Sox in 2016, the right-handed hitting infielder was acquired by Toronto in 2018 in exchange for OF Steve Pearce and made his MLB debut for the Blue Jays in 2020. Over the course of 347 career big-league games, Espinal recorded 56 doubles, a triple, 11 home runs, and 99 RBIs while earning an American League All-Star nod in 2022.