Right-hander Paolo Espino is retiring after 19 seasons in pro ball, as the 39-year-old announced that he is hanging up his glove after the World Baseball Classic is over. The longtime member of Panama’s national team saw action in both the 2006 and 2009 editions of the WBC, and is looking to pitch for his country one more time before calling it a career.
A 10th-round pick for Cleveland in the 2006 draft, Espino finally made it to the Show in March 2017 when he was 30 years and pitching with the Brewers. He tossed 24 total innings that season between the Brewers and Rangers and then didn’t resurface in the majors again until 2020 when he was a member of the Nationals.
The bulk of Espino’s time in the big leagues was spent in a Washington uniform, as the right-hander threw 233 innings over 82 games with the Nats (out of 265 2/3 career innings and 97 games). Throughout his time with the Nationals and over his career as a whole, Espino worked in a variety of roles, including as a regular starter, long reliever, bulk pitcher behind an opener, or as the proverbial last man in the bullpen reserved for blowout duty.
Espino posted a 5.12 ERA over his 265 frames with the Brewers, Rangers, Nationals, and Blue Jays, as his 8 2/3 innings over three outings with Toronto in 2024 marked the final appearances of his MLB career. The Jays outrighted Espino off the 40-man roster at the conclusion of the 2024 campaign and he elected free agency, eventually signing with Conspiradores de Queretaro of the Mexican League for part of the 2025 season.
We at MLB Trade Rumors congratulate Espino on his fine career, and we wish him all the best in his post-playing endeavors.
Retirement respond with: “Really?” “Why?”…
What?
Rsox just has to respond in the negative. It’s how all the commentators here act. Comment section here is toxic and it’s usually the most frequent commentators and they’ve often been posting here for over a decade
I’d say it’s mostly friendly and informed and not so toxic, at least compared to the rest of the internet ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
What internet sites do you hangout on that these guys are friendly and informed? Sounds like an abusive relationship to me
Grinder.
The guy had a complete game a few years ago. That should get him some Hall of Fame votes.
Nice, a flippant dismissive cynical comment. Very refreshing!
Thanks! I think.
“I think” not while reading someone insult you I guess. Haha
I know what he said. Didn’t need your input. You thought you had to add your one cent is all that is.
Sack it really wasn’t meant to be taken that seriously. It was a joke about how getting elected to the Hall of Fame now is easier than ever. I guess I have to explain every single little word that I type so nobody has a stroke. Everybody’s gotta be so serious and they know it all.
Espino we hardly knew ya. Really, who dis?
Good Luck Paolo!
As a Nats fan, I appreciate his contributions to the team. At the same time, and it’s not Espino’s fault, but it was a damning indictment of the Rizzo regime that one season he was awarded Best Pitcher in the system, along with Lane Thomas as Best Position Player. My gawd.
Oof bleak but accurate
While he didn’t find MLB success, Espino pursued his dream and passion for 19 years.
Kudos to him, good luck with WBC Panama, and happy retirement!
There’s some stat (which i can’t verify atm) that Espino holds the record for minor league strikeouts. I’ve always wondered if that’s true.
It IS true he had the most strikeouts of any minor leaguer in the past 20 seasons, and is ahead of #2 by 300K … and that’s not counting the two seasons he was in the major leagues.
– Most consecutive batters retired by a Nationals reliever: Espino holds the Nationals record (2005–present) for retiring 25 consecutive batters as a reliever, a feat he achieved between April 24 and May 14, 2021
– Most starts without a Win in a Nationals season: In 2022, he became the first pitcher in Nationals history to make at least 10 starts in a single season without recording a win. He finished that year with an 0-9 record across 19 starts (42 total appearances).
– Minor league strikeout volume: While not an “official” all-time record, Espino is widely recognized for his immense durability in the minors. He has the most strikeouts of any minor leaguer in the past 20 seasons, leading the next closest pitcher by roughly 300 strikeouts.
He also, in consecutive appearances, started a game and received his first career win and finished a game and received his first career save. Surely nobody has ever done that before.
Maybe not, and stop calling me Shirley.
That minor/foreign league history reads like a novel. Talk about a guy playing for the love of the game. Enjoy your retirement, Paolo!
Yeah he made AAA back in 2010 but should’ve just went overseas. Japan and Korea will pay higher than MiLB while giving a higher quality of life vs playing in the Midwest or Texas league
Enjoy your retirement and very much enjoy being able to say, “I was a big leaguer.” Most of us can only dream.
Enjoy retirement. You can always talk about making the bigs and your experiences there, something many who played pro ball never can say.
Might also be close to having suited up for the most teams overall.
Espino’s career is the epitome of perseverance! Spent over a decade in the minors before being called up, then bounced around a few years before sticking in the Bigs for about five years. I am not sure too many ball players would have stuck to it like he did.