The Blue Jays have selected the contract of right-hander Paolo Espino from Triple-A Buffalo and designated right-hander Wes Parsons for assignment in a corresponding move, the team announced Friday.
Parsons, 31, has spent the past two seasons with the Jays after a two-year run in the Korea Baseball Organization. He’s logged just nine innings over three appearances at the MLB level with Toronto dating back to a spot start last October. The results haven’t been pretty. Parsons was tagged for nine runs in four innings against the Rays in that spot start, and this season he’s served up another six runs in five innings of relief. On the whole, he’s yielded 15 runs on 16 hits and five walks with five strikeouts in nine frames for the Jays.
Rough as that showing has been, Parsons pitched decently for the Jays’ Triple-A club in 2023, tossing 81 2/3 frames over 17 starts and recording a 4.52 ERA, 27.6% strikeout rate and 12% walk rate. He was effective for the KBO’s NC Dinos as well, making 32 starts and turning in a 3.68 ERA while striking out more than a quarter of his opponents. In his limited time with Toronto, Parsons has shown five pitches — four-seamer, two-seamer, curveball, slider, changeup — averaging 94.7 mph on his four-seamer and 93.5 mph on his sinker. The right-hander, who’s in his final minor league option year, will either be traded, placed on outright waivers or released within the next week.
Espino, 37, spent the 2020-23 seasons in the Nationals organization, oscillating not only between the big leagues and Triple-A but also between starting and bullpen roles. He pitched 233 innings with the Nats in the majors, working to a 4.91 ERA with a below-average 19.5% strikeout rate but an excellent 5.4% walk rate.
Espino doesn’t throw hard, sitting just 88-89 mph with his fastball, and his extreme fly-ball tendencies could be a tough fit in the American League East. That said, he excelled in spring training, tossing 17 innings with a 2.65 ERA, 36.4% strikeout rate and 3% walk rate. That brilliant showing earned him a look with the Jays, and he can now add some length to their bullpen in the event of a short start or a game getting out of hand.
Great job Atkins. Him being on the roster for a week was absolutely worth losing Zululeta for nothing. Excellent work.
Ugh.
Zulueta is a 26 year old reliever with an insane walk rate who struggled in AAA. He’s as irrelevant as Parsons and Espino. Sure to be gone when other guys got healthy anyway.
Zulueta is off to a 20.25 ERA out of the gates in Louisville too. Just because he used to be a prospect they dreamed would find command doesn’t mean he’s a useful way to spend a roster spot now.
Wes. Parsons.
It’s not so much that they let him go. I have an issue with him being let go for absolutely nothing. You’re telling me there isn’t a team out there that would throw a lower level prospect at us for him? Instead he was DFA’d for another guy who absolutely sucks as well. Just getting frustrated with Atkins’s roster management.
@bhd360
As you say, “…another guy who absolutely sucks as well.”. No team is going to give up anything for a guy that is essentially org filler.
Probably not bhd. However, I hear your frustration because why wasn’t he traded at the 2022 deadline in a package of some sort for an arm better than Mitch White? Zulueta’s value was higher a couple years back, and the only deadline the Jays seemed to care was the year they were way behind the Wild Card in 2021 (and nearly clawed back).
How nice to have hindsight when looking back to trade prospects who end up having little to no value and success.
Unfortunately that’s not how life works, you don’t know when a players peak value is in the moment.
Nice joke Dusty.
The point, which you once again can’t comprehend, is the Blue Jays did not go all-in for the players needed. In 2022 it was a SP. In 2023 it was a bat. You forgot 2015, clearly. You also, once again, picked a losing fight. Stay angry, keep losing.
You’re arguing with yourself.
You wait for things to play out and then say ‘see’, there is no intelligence or knowledge in waiting for the results to then predict them. Which is all you do, no one’s angry. Staying hurting
Also not to mention you on these boards crying about how they trade Moreno and Frasso and now you’re crying about how they don’t trade a prospect lol
No wonder you think you always win, your opinion changes with the wind
Spot on smuz –
Jays fans feel this way not because Zulueta was ever that good or valuable but more so that the last 4 years the farm has been so pathetic that he was a top 10 org prospect. Every team has guys like this, they are just usually no where near as top of mind and more in the 17-25 org prospect range
In other words you hold pieces not to win.
Got it.
Okay now do Jordan Romano’s minor league career.
Guess the jays should have traded him too right?
Damn! I had him cut loose when Romano came back.
He wouldn’t have had to be cut loose. Romano isn’t on the 60 day so he’s still on the roster. Parsons is optionable. Espino will need to be cut loose unless they keep him active. So it’s a series of decisions that seems to eat into the bulk of innings available. It probably suggests that they plan to keep White on the active roster and maybe they have some faith in Manoah providing something. Rodriguez seems to be catching up too.
Oops. Espino somehow still has an option, so he can be retained and just optioned when the other guys are back.
@KamKid
Actually he is cut loose, although that might be a poor choice of words. Since he was DFA’d he’s technically in limbo. If he goes unclaimed the Jays have a choice of outrighting him off the 40 man (the spot which was given to Espino) or send him to Buffalo or release him. Either way he’s cut loose from the 40.
Yeah. I understand that. But there wouldn’t have been a need to cut him loose when Romano returned. Romano is already on the roster so they wouldn’t have needed to clear a roster spot for him. Parsons still has an option. When I made my first comment, I had assumed Espino was out of options. Otherwise it would have been weird to DFA Parsons for him and then have to DFA Espino in a week or so as Swanson and Romano are due back soon.
No Wes No
Why is atkins still here ?? DFA atkins !!
could imagine that call
Atkins: Hey Wes. Saw your pregnancy announcement. Congrats! Unfortunately you can’t tell your upcoming child you’re a MLB player as we’re designating you for assignment.
“More time with the family!”
Does Espino have the minor league all-time strikeout record?
Can Espino hit?
Maybe the Jays can put a Yankee uniform on him and sneak him out to the mound in the top of one of the innings when Boone’s not looking.
Having said that, he’d probably no hit the Jays too…
Espino is the type of pitcher who makes Toronto’s lineup look awful. Command soft stuff and let them get themselves out.
Cool to see Espino still at it.
I’m a little surprised by this. Parsons isn’t awesome but he’s a source of innings that has options. Even if he was hit around a bit so far, he showed up on some of the stuff + leaderboards this spring so he’s the type of guy who has something that you might want to preserve in the first half of the season before some of the young guys getting their first taste of AAA are an option. They were off yesterday, so the pen should be well rested. The length Espino gives them isn’t really needed right away.
The only length Espino is going to give the BlueJays at the MLB level is giving up extra long home runs leaving the yard at the Rogers Center.
That’s the job. Take it on the chin in out of reach games so you preserve the bullpen for another day. I get it. They have Kikuchi who doesn’t go deep even when he’s good, Gausman just building up his pitch count, and Francis who they won’t overexpose. So they might need some innings. But they were coming off a day off. They could have waited on that decision. They have White fresh enough.
Perhaps an innings eater for a Yankee game where their bats show up. Nice goose egg by the Bronx Bombers today.