Santiago Espinal is on the roster edge again, and Blue Jays fans have seen this part of the story before.
The Dodgers are designating Espinal for assignment to make room for Tommy Edman's return, according to current Dodgers coverage around Los Angeles' roster move. That puts the former Toronto infielder back into DFA limbo after another utility role got squeezed by a healthier roster.
That part tracks with how Espinal's 2026 season has gone. He has mostly been a depth piece for Los Angeles, not a lineup regular, and that is a hard lane to keep once a contender starts getting bodies back.
For Blue Jays fans, the move lands with a little more weight because Espinal was never just another bench infielder in Toronto. He spent parts of 4 seasons with the club after arriving from Boston in the 2018 Steve Pearce trade.
He made his big-league debut with Toronto in 2020, then turned himself into one of the better stories on the roster over the next 2 seasons. His best year came in 2022, when he made the American League All-Star team and hit .267 over 135 games.
That 2022 version of Espinal mattered on those Blue Jays teams. He gave Toronto reliable infield defense, a steady contact bat, and the kind of clubhouse energy that played well in a room full of bigger personalities. This last sentence is an inference based on his usage and reputation around that All-Star season.
Toronto got the good years before the slide
The drop came later. Espinal's playing time shrank in 2023, and by March 2024 the Blue Jays sent him to Cincinnati for minor-league pitcher Chris McElvain. Toronto had clearly moved on from him as a real everyday option by then.
He still carved out some value with the Reds in 2024, hitting .246 with a career-high 9 home runs in 118 games, but that hold slipped in 2025 and Cincinnati eventually pushed him off the 40-man roster.
The Dodgers took a shot on him this spring as a depth piece, which made sense. Espinal can still move around the infield, handle spot work, and fill the kind of role contenders need over a long season.
But that role comes with no real security. Once Edman was ready, Espinal became the simplest roster casualty.
For Toronto, this is mostly a reminder of what Espinal was and what he was not. He was a good Blue Jays story, an All-Star in 2022, and a useful player during a stretch when the club needed steadier infield work. He was never built to hold off roster churn forever.
And that is why this Dodgers move feels familiar. Santiago Espinal gave the Blue Jays some real moments a few seasons back, but like a lot of utility infielders, he is still fighting to stay in the picture once healthier teams start making harder choices.
Do Blue Jays fans still have a soft spot for Santiago Espinal?
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