Dámaso Matias Espino (born May 8, 1983 in Los Santos,

Panama Panama ( , ; es, link=no, Panamá ), officially the Republic of Panama ( es, República de Panamá), is a transcontinental country spanning the southern part of North America and the northern part of South America. It is bordered by Cos ...

), is a Panamanian former professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...

catcher Catcher is a Baseball positions, position in baseball and softball. When a Batter (baseball), batter takes their at bat, turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the (home plate, home) Umpire (baseball), umpire, and recei ...

. He was selected for the

Panama national baseball team The Panama national baseball team (Spanish: ''Selección de béisbol de Panamá'') is the baseball team that represents Panama at an international level. Along with Nicaragua, they are considered to be the best baseball team in Central America, and ...

for the

World Baseball Classic The World Baseball Classic (WBC) is an international baseball tournament sanctioned from 2006 to 2013 by the International Baseball Federation (IBAF) and after 2013 by World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) in partnership with Major Leagu ...

in 2006, 2009, and 2013.

Professional career

Cincinnati Reds

Espino was originally signed by the

Cincinnati Reds The Cincinnati Reds are an American professional baseball team based in Cincinnati. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division and were a charter member of ...

as an undrafted free agent

infielder An infielder is a baseball player stationed at one of four defensive "infield" positions on the baseball field. Standard arrangement of positions In a game of baseball, two teams of nine players take turns playing offensive and defensive roles. ...

in 1999. He played for the Gulf Coast Reds from 2000 to 2002, earning Gulf Coast League All-Star honors in 2002 as a

third baseman A third baseman, abbreviated 3B, is the player in baseball or softball whose responsibility is to defend the area nearest to third base — the third of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. In the scoring system us ...

when he hit .332 in 58 games.

Kansas City Royals

He was traded by the Reds on March 6, 2003 to the

Kansas City Royals The Kansas City Royals are an American professional baseball team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Royals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team was founded as an expans ...

. The Royals assigned hin to the Class-A Burlington Bees for 2003 and promoted him to the

Wilmington Blue Rocks The Wilmington Blue Rocks are a Minor League Baseball team of the South Atlantic League and the High-A affiliate of the Washington Nationals. They are located in Wilmington, Delaware, and play their home games at Daniel S. Frawley Stadium. ...

in 2004. In 2005, he returned to Burlington and made the transition to playing

. He spent 2006–2007 in AA with the Wichita Wranglers and made it to AAA in 2008 with the Omaha Royals.

Cleveland Indians

Espino was traded by the Royals to the

Cleveland Indians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. Since , they have played at Progressive F ...

on June 12, 2008 for cash. Espino was invited to Spring Training for the 2010 season but did not make the club and was assigned to the Triple-A

Columbus Clippers The Columbus Clippers are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League (IL) and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Cleveland Guardians. They are located in Columbus, Ohio, and are named for speedy Merchant ship, mercha ...

. He remained with the Indians through 2010, playing for the AA Akron Aeros and Columbus.

Los Angeles Dodgers

Espino signed a minor league contract with the

Los Angeles Dodgers The Los Angeles Dodgers are an American professional baseball team based in Los Angeles. The Dodgers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Established in 1883 in the city of Brooklyn ...

on January 26, 2011 and received an invitation to major league camp. He was assigned to the AAA Albuquerque Isotopes, where he appeared in 65 games and hit .292. On November 2, 2011, he elected free agency.

Chicago White Sox

On January 17, 2012, Espino signed a minor league contract with the

Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team is owned by Jerry Reinsdorf, and p ...

. In 66 games with the AA

Birmingham Barons The Birmingham Barons are a Minor League Baseball team based in Birmingham, Alabama. The team, which plays in the Southern League, is the Double-A affiliate of the Chicago White Sox and plays at Regions Field in downtown Birmingham. The current ...

, he hit .284. He also played in 3 games with AAA

Charlotte Charlotte ( ) is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont (United States), Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, Meckl ...

in 2012. On November 2, 2012, he elected free agency. On December 18, 2012, Espino re-signed with the White Sox on a minor league contract and appeared in 1 game at Charlotte in 2013 before he was released.

Los Angeles Dodgers (second stint)

Espino signed a minor league contract with the

on June 23, 2013 and reported to AAA Albuquerque, where he appeared in 19 games and batted .333. On November 4, 2013, he elected free agency.

Somerset Patriots

On April 1, 2014, Espino signed with the Somerset Patriots of the

Atlantic League of Professional Baseball The Atlantic League of Professional Baseball (ALPB) is a professional independent baseball league based in the United States. It is an official MLB Partner League based in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern United States. The Atlantic League's ...

. In 2014, Espino slashed .252/.274/.298 with 1 home run and 18 RBI in 70 games.

Post-baseball career

On January 19, 2015, Espino retired from professional baseball and joined the St. Louis Cardinals organization as an international scout. He is currently a Panama-based scout and international crosschecker, and was involved in the signing of Cardinals catching prospect

Ivan Herrera Ivan () is a Slavic male given name, connected with the variant of the Greek name (English: John) from Hebrew meaning 'God is gracious'. It is associated worldwide with Slavic countries. The earliest person known to bear the name was Bulgar ...

Personal

Espino's cousin

Paolo Paolo is both a given name and a surname, the Italian form of the name Paul. Notable people with the name include: People with the given name Paolo Art *Paolo Alboni (1671–1734), Italian painter *Paolo Abbate (1884–1973), Italian-American s ...

plays for the

Washington Nationals The Washington Nationals are an American professional baseball team based in Washington, D.C.. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. From 2005 to 2007, the team played in RFK Stadiu ...

. Espino played in the

for

in both

2006 File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro 2006 Montenegrin independence referendum, votes to declare ...

and

2009 File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; 2009 Iran ...

, with a total of three at-bats in the two series. Paolo was also on Panama's roster for the World Baseball Classic.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Espino, Damaso 1983 births Living people Akron Aeros players Albuquerque Isotopes players Baseball catchers Birmingham Barons players Burlington Bees players Charlotte Knights players Chattanooga Lookouts players Columbus Clippers players Gulf Coast Reds players High Desert Mavericks players Omaha Royals players Panamanian expatriate baseball players in the United States People from Los Santos Province Somerset Patriots players Wichita Wranglers players Wilmington Blue Rocks players 2006 World Baseball Classic players 2009 World Baseball Classic players Toros del Este players Panamanian expatriate baseball players in the Dominican Republic