Raynel Joseph Espinal (born October 6, 1991) is a Dominican

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Modern professional ...

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw ...

for the

Tokyo Yakult Swallows The Tokyo Yakult Swallows () are a Japanese professional baseball team competing in Nippon Professional Baseball's Central League. Based in Shinjuku, Tokyo, they are one of two professional baseball teams based in Tokyo, the other being the ...

Nippon Professional Baseball or NPB is the highest level of baseball in Japan. Locally, it is often called , meaning ''Professional Baseball''. Outside Japan, it is often just referred to as "Japanese baseball". The roots of the league can be traced back to the formation ...

(NPB). He has previously played in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

(MLB) for the

Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Founded in as one of the American League's eigh ...

and Cincinnati Reds. Listed at and , he throws and bats right-handed.

Professional career

New York Yankees

Espinal began his professional career with the

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. They are one of ...

organization, first playing for the

Dominican Summer League Yankees The Dominican Summer Yankees are a minor league baseball team in the Dominican Summer League. The team plays in the Boca Chica South division and is affiliated with the New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional b ...

in 2013 and 2014. After not playing professionally during 2015, he played for four different Yankees

farm team In sports, a farm team, farm system, feeder team, feeder club, or nursery club is generally a team or club whose role is to provide experience and training for young players, with an agreement that any successful players can move on to a higher ...

s during 2016, advancing to the

Class A Short Season Class A Short Season (officially Short-Season A) was a level of play in Minor League Baseball in the United States from 1965 through 2020. In the hierarchy of minor league classifications, it was below Triple-A, Double-A, Class A-Advanced (cre ...

level with the

Staten Island Yankees The Staten Island Yankees were a minor league baseball team located in the New York City borough of Staten Island from 1999 to 2020. Nicknamed the "Baby Bombers", the Yankees were the Class A Short Season affiliate of the New York Yankees and pla ...

. In 2017, he played for three different teams and reached Double-A with the

Trenton Thunder The Trenton Thunder are a collegiate summer baseball team of the MLB Draft League. They are located in Trenton, New Jersey, and play their home games at Trenton Thunder Ballpark. From 1994 to 2020, it was a Minor League Baseball team of the ...

. Espinal then spent all of the 2018 and 2019 seasons in Triple-A with the

Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders The Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders (often abbreviated to SWB RailRiders) are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League (IL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the New York Yankees. They are located in Moosic, Pennsylvania, in the ...

. With the RailRiders, he appeared in 59 total games (15 starts) allowing 64 runs in 142 innings pitched for a 4.06

earned run average In baseball statistics, earned run average (ERA) is the average of earned runs allowed by a pitcher per nine innings pitched (i.e. the traditional length of a game). It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the number ...

(ERA). In July 2019, Espinal underwent Tommy John surgery.

Boston Red Sox

The Red Sox selected Espinal from the Yankees in the minor league phase of the Rule 5 draft after the 2019 season. He did not pitch during 2020, due to cancellation of the minor-league season, then began the 2021 season in Triple-A with the

Worcester Red Sox The Worcester Red Sox (nicknamed the WooSox) are a professional minor league baseball team based in Worcester, Massachusetts. Beginning play in 2021, the team is the Triple-A affiliate of the Boston Red Sox, succeeding the Pawtucket Red Sox. The ...

. The Red Sox promoted Espinal to the major leagues on August 30, 2021, to add bullpen depth due to players being placed on the COVID-related list. He made his MLB debut that day, pitching in relief against the

Tampa Bay Rays The Tampa Bay Rays are an American professional baseball team based in St. Petersburg, Florida. The Rays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Since its inception, the team's home v ...

. He was returned to Worcester the next day and removed from the

40-man roster A Major League Baseball roster is a list of players who are allowed, by league agreement, to play for a Major League Baseball (MLB) team. Each MLB team maintains two rosters: an active roster of players eligible to participate in an MLB game, an ...

. Worcester named Espinal their pitcher of the year, having gone 11–4 with a 3.55 ERA in Triple-A. Espinal became a

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

following the 2021 season.

San Francisco Giants

On February 5, 2022, Espinal signed a minor-league contract with the

San Francisco Giants The San Francisco Giants are an American professional baseball team based in San Francisco, California. The Giants compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1883 as the New Y ...

. He began the season in Triple-A with the

Sacramento River Cats The Sacramento River Cats are a Minor League Baseball team of the Pacific Coast League (PCL) and are the Triple-A affiliate of the San Francisco Giants. Prior to 2015, the River Cats were the Triple-A affiliate of the Oakland Athletics for 15 ...

of the Pacific Coast League.

Chicago Cubs

On July 31, 2022, the Giants traded Espinal to the Chicago Cubs for Dixon Machado. On August 16 the Chicago Cubs released Espinal making him a free agent.

Cincinnati Reds

On August 18, 2022, Espinal signed a minor league deal with the Cincinnati Reds. He had his contract selected on September 11, 2022. He elected free agency on November 10, 2022.

Tokyo Yakult Swallows

On December 5, 2022, Espinal signed with the

International career

Espinal pitched for the

Dominican Republic national baseball team The Dominican Republic national baseball team (Spanish: ''Selección de béisbol de República Dominicana'') is the national baseball team of the Dominican Republic. The team has won the Baseball World Cup in 1948 and World Baseball Classic in 201 ...

during

qualification Qualification is either the process of qualifying for an achievement, or a credential attesting to that achievement, and may refer to: * Professional qualification, attributes developed by obtaining academic degrees or through professional exper ...

for the

2020 Summer Olympics The , officially the and also known as , was an international multi-sport event held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some preliminary events that began on 21 July. Tokyo was selected as the host city during the 1 ...

. He has played several seasons of winter baseball with

Gigantes del Cibao The Gigantes del Cibao (English: Cibao giants) are a baseball team that plays in the Dominican Winter League. The team was founded in 1996 as ''Gigantes del Noroeste ''then with a change of ownership the name was changed several times, being cal ...

of the

Dominican Professional Baseball League Dominican may refer to: * Someone or something from or related to the Dominican Republic ( , stress on the "mi"), on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles, in the Caribbean ** People of the Dominican Republic ** Demographics of the Domi ...

(LIDOM).

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Espinal, Raynel Living people 1991 births People from Santiago Province (Dominican Republic) Dominican Republic expatriate baseball players in the United States Major League Baseball players from the Dominican Republic Major League Baseball pitchers Boston Red Sox players Cincinnati Reds players Dominican Summer League Yankees players Gulf Coast Yankees players Pulaski Yankees players Staten Island Yankees players Charleston RiverDogs players Tampa Yankees players Trenton Thunder players Gigantes del Cibao players Sacramento River Cats players Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders players Worcester Red Sox players