Santiago Espinal is headed to Los Angeles.
Former Toronto Blue Jays All-Star infielder Santiago Espinal has signed a minor league deal with the Los Angeles Dodgers, according to insight from Dodgers' reporter Fabian Ardaya.
We had recently heard that Espinal was getting looks from multiple teams and he ultimately lands with the champions, who beat the Blue Jays in the 2025 World Series.
About Espinal
Now 31 years old, Espinal is a native of the Dominican Republic. He played his college baseball at Miami and was drafted in the 10th round of the 2016 draft by the Boston Red Sox. He was traded to the Blue Jays in a 2018 deal for Steve Pearce, who went onto help Boston win the World Series that season.
Espinal debuted with Toronto in the COVID-shortened 2020 season and remained a big part of the roster through 2023. He made the All-Star Game in the 2022 season, hitting .267 with seven homers and 51 RBIs. A versatile infielder, he was traded to the Cincinnati Reds before 2024, hitting .246 and .243 in consecutive years.
He had no home runs in 114 games in 2025, also bringing in just 16 runs.
It's unclear if he'll get a chance with the Dodgers, who are loaded up and down the roster.
He's not the only one
Espinal is not the only former Blue Jays player to find a new home on Monday, as Ty France did as well. France, who was acquired from the Minnesota Twins at the trade deadline in 2025, won a Gold Glove for his work between the two franchises.
He signed a minor league deal with the San Diego Padres, which is where he started his career before being traded to Seattle in 2020.
Other Jays news and notes
--With Shane Bieber injured and questions about the workloads of Trey Yesavage and Cody Ponce, we're wondering if a reunion makes sense between the Blue Jays and future Hall of Famer Max Scherzer.
--We're also wondering if the injury to Bieber could result in Yariel Rodriguez ending up back in the bullpen. Remember, he was outrighted off the 40-man roster earlier this offseason.
--The Team Canada men's hockey team is the No. 1 seed at the Olympic hockey tournament. Last week, manager John Schneider said he was pulling for Canada to win the Gold Medal, something it also did in 2014 and 2010 when NHL players were present. The Canadian women are also in the semifinals on Monday.
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