Daniel Espino proved earlier this year that he can pitch at the Major League level, so why isn't he in the Cleveland Guardians' bullpen? There are a couple of potential reasons why.
Not all of the Cleveland Guardians' struggles over the last few weeks have come at the plate.
Cleveland's bullpen has also been shaky at times, especially in giving up so many free base runners, which has hurt the Guardians on multiple occasions.
Could the team use another Daniel Espino down at Triple-A instead of up with the big-league team?
Espino has looked very strong in his six Major League outings from earlier in the regular season.
The right-hander's average fastball velocity of 98.9 mph, paired with his devastating slider, clearly played well at the next level, as Espino had a whiff rate of 43.4 percent and a strikeout rate of 44.4 percent.
Only Chris Antonetti and company know the true reason Espino is at Triple-A, but there are a couple of theories as to why he's not pitching out of the big-league bullpen.
One reason is that Espino hasn't been as locked in and dominant on the mound over the last few weeks compared to earlier in the season.
In August, the 25-year-old has a 4.15 ERA (2 ER/ 4.1IP) and has walked a pair of batters with a hit by pitch over that stretch.
Espino's punchouts have started to dip a little bit as well, owning a strikeout rate of 21.1 percent this month, compared to his season strikeout rate of 29.5 percent.
Jun 30, 2026; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Cleveland Guardians pitcher Daniel Espino (41) walks off the field during the ninth inning against the Texas Rangers at Progressive Field. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-Imagn ImagesGiven some of Espino's command struggles, there are no guarantees he would fix the same issues the big-league bullpen is having.
There may be a reason for some of these issues, though, which ties into the next reason the Guardians may not have recalled the flamethrower: the organization is clearly still being careful with Espino's usage.
Espino has already pitched 36.0 innings across all levels this season, which is the most he's thrown in a year since 2021. The right-hander also pitched in the Arizona Fall League last November; he's been throwing almost nonstop for a full calendar year by now.
With that, Espino hasn't pitched more than one inning in the Minor League this season, and only did it once out of necessity with the Guardians back in July.
Given the current state of Cleveland's bullpen, it needs pitchers who can record more than three outs at a time, and the game logs question whether Espino can do that right now.
Will Espino be back with the Major League team at any point in 2026?
The safe answer would be yes, but not right now. Perhaps another promotion could come when Cleveland has more flexibility with September's expanded roster quickly approaching.
