Toronto Blue Jays shortstop Yariel Rodriguez will make his MLB debut

Free agent Yariel Rodriguez will make his Major League Baseball debut with the Toronto Blue Jays.

Hours before Toronto hosted the Colorado Rockies on Saturday morning, the Blue Jays recalled the right-handed pitcher from their Triple-A affiliate in Buffalo, New York. Rodriguez was the Blue Jays starter in the game, though Toronto manager John Schneider said the 26-year-old Cuban would be limited to about 70 pitches.

“He's a very good pitcher, and we want to see him do his thing and compete,” Schneider said in his office before the game. “He's coming after you against an aggressive team, so there's no expectation, he just wants to see it go.”

Long reliever Paolo Espino was optioned to the Triple-A Bisons in a corresponding move.

Rodriguez agreed to a five-year, $32 million contract with the Blue Jays during the offseason. He pitched as a starter and reliever in the major leagues of Cuba and Japan.

He has not allowed a run in 6 1/3 innings as a starting pitcher for Buffalo this season, striking out 10 in his two starts.

His last full baseball season was in 2022, when he was a 6-2 record as a reliever for the Chunichi Dragons of the Japan Central League, with a 1.15 earned run average over 56 games.

“He's definitely well-traveled and seen different ways to play the game,” Schneider said. “I think he brings it all together a little bit between his delivery, the way he plays.

“He'll get you a little bit of anything.”

Espino, 37, has a 7.71 ERA in two games for Toronto this season, allowing two runs over 4 2/3 innings. His slump comes a day after he gave up four runs on six hits in 2 2/3 innings in a 12-4 loss to Colorado. Schneider said Espino was professional when he told him he was stepping down.

“He's been around forever and when we talked to him this morning, he understood it was part of the game,” Schneider said. “I don't think there's a bad bone in his body.”

This Canadian Press report was first published on April 13, 2024.