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Injuries Couldn’t Stop Daniel Espino; Now He Gets His Chance in Cleveland

Espino will make his major league debut this weekend as the Cleveland Guardians play host to the Detroit Tigers.
Cade Cracas|
Akron RubberDucks pitcher Daniel Espino delivers a pitch at Canal Park on April 29, 2022.
Akron RubberDucks pitcher Daniel Espino delivers a pitch at Canal Park on April 29, 2022. | Jeff Lange / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

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Cleveland Guardians

From 2022 through 2025, right-handed pitching prospect Daniel Espino made just five appearances.

Despite a seemingly endless string of obstacles, including injuries, surgeries, setbacks and personal loss, Espino continued to persevere through every challenge that came his way.

And now, after years of uncertainty and bumps in the road where it looked like the 25-year-old would never get his shot, he has made it to the big leagues.

In the early morning hours of Friday, June 12, the Cleveland Guardians' front office promoted Espino to the big league roster, giving him an opportunity to make his long-awaited debut in the near future. Shifting places, righty reliever Codi Heuer was sent down to Triple-A Columbus.

Just a few weeks back, when addressing the media at Progressive Field, Guardians President of Baseball Operations Chris Antonetti shared that Espino was making good progress and could get his shot to appear in the big leagues at some point in 2026.

“Very much so,” Antonetti said in response to a question about Espino's chances of being promoted. “That's still very much a possibility, and Daniel's done his part to continue to prepare for that opportunity when it's there.”

Through 22 appearances and just over 18 innings pitched at Triple-A this season, Espino has posted a 5.30 ERA and a 1.714 WHIP. While his 15 walks allowed reflect some ongoing command issues, he has compensated by dominating the strike zone at other times. Espino is averaging an eye-popping 14 strikeouts per nine innings.

The hope is that in the big leagues, he will be able to get a hold of his control a bit more, and still utilize that high-strikeout potential to attack major league hitters.

But he is going to take some time to settle in; after all, he has only been on the bump for a limited amount of time since recovering from one of baseball's longest injury stints.

The Injury History

Beginning in 2022, Espino started suffering from both knee and shoulder issues, something that, at first, seemed to be just a small bump in the road. He only pitched in four starts and 18.1 total innings, but posted a 2.45 ERA and 0.709 WHIP.

After being taken off the diamond, he spent the rest of the year rehabbing and working his way back up to full health, seemingly preparing for a resurgence in 2023.

But while ramping up his intensity, he suffered from discomfort in his shoulder, which ultimately required surgery to address.

Then, he had another procedure. All of these were done to his right arm, which is his throwing side, causing a long-winded recovery process that simply couldn't be rushed.

Eventually, after missing out on the 2023 and 2024 seasons, and nearly the entire 2025 season, he returned back on to the bump on Sept. 20, 2025. He pitched in one game for Triple-A Columbus, getting a taste of competitive, high-level baseball once again.

A Personal Challenge Off the Field

While attempting to fight through the mental battle of injury rehab, Espino was hit with something no person can ever be prepared for: the death of his father.

He would use such an event to help motivate him to continue chasing his dreams, knowing that if he kept grinding and working hard, he would get his shot to make him proud and play in the major leagues.

"I feel like you can try to put bandages on it, but you can never get over that," Espino said in an interview with the Columbus Dispatch. "It was just extra motivation to me to get where he wished that I would be."

His father was described as his "best friend" and had made sacrifices to make sure that Espino could live out his dreams of becoming a professional baseball player.

"Everything that I do, I feel like I do it for him," Espino said.

And while a chapter like that can never truly be closed, Espino now has the opportunity to write a new one, having fulfilled his father's and his dream of reaching the major leagues.

 “I look back and I just see a picture of me as a kid and all the sacrifices that my family has made,” Espino said about what motivated his return in an interview with the BIGPLAY Sports Network's Hanna Wilford. “And knowing that I was born with destiny, and God wouldn’t put anything in front of me that I couldn’t handle.” 

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Cade Cracas
CADE CRACAS

Cade Cracas is a sports media professional with experience in play-by-play, broadcasting and digital storytelling. He is a recent graduate of Ashland University with degrees in digital media production and journalism.

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