Conversations with the Herd: Cincinnati Reds infielder Santiago Espinal

By: Brian Frank

Santiago Espinal has worked hard to make the most of his ability. The 30-year-old native of Santiago, Dominican Republic has now played in 548 major-league games in a career that spans six seasons. He can be found before each game taking early infield. It’s something he’s always done.

“It came since I was a little kid,” Espinal said of his work ethic in a recent interview with The Herd Chronicles. “Coming from the D.R., everything has to be in a hustle. Be the first one in and be the first one out. Even when it comes to hitting, fielding ground balls or just running the bases – hustle it out. That’s been part of my game. It just naturally comes out. That’s what I do in my practice as well. I take pride in that, where practice to me is like the game. Pretty much my whole career I’ve been like that. I know I’m not going to be perfect, but I try to make sure I’m close to perfect. It’s been part of me. It’s just who I am as a player, and that’s what I do all the time.”

Taking early infield with the Blue Jays at Sahlen Field. Photo Credit: Brian Frank, The Herd Chronicles

Espinal has been around a lot of great players, who have helped show him the ropes in the big leagues, going back to when he was a young minor leaguer in the Red Sox system.

“I had a lot of players close to me, he said, “When I was in Boston, I used to live with Rafael Deavers in spring training, so I got a lot of information from him. We talked a lot. We talked about the game a lot… One of the guys too (who helped me) is Xander Bogaerts.”

“When I got traded to the Blue Jays, Vladdy (Vladimir Guerrero Jr.), Teo (Teoscar Hernández), Gurriel (Lourdes Gurriel Jr.), and Freddy Galvis when he was there. I got a lot of information from those guys. Pretty much, Teoscar and Gurriel were the ones who actually guided me on how to do things and stuff like that. Since then, after they left, it’s kind of been like I’m on my own – like, okay, I know what to do now. That’s what I’ve been doing for the past couple years.

“What I also try to do is I get out early and I look at – are the best players practicing on the other team?,” Espinal continued. “I try to get information from them just by seeing them practice… I have talked to Jose Altuve. I’ve talked to a lot of players. But pretty much what I do is I do my own homework and go out there and try to look for what they do in practice.”

Now 30 years old, Espinal has embraced more of a leadership role on his current team, the Cincinnati Reds.

“I feel like the way that I have to lead is by doing the right thing,” he explained. “Just hustling. Go out there, be the first one. Go out there and be consistent with not just practice, but the game, no matter where your numbers are at. That’s just kind of who I am, you know? I don’t have to go out there and talk to you and tell you what to do, and stuff like that. Instead, if I go out there and do the right thing – ground ball, you run, fly ball, you run. Make sure I make the routine plays. Make sure I stay consistent with anything that I do, whether it’s practice or whether it’s in the game, or whether it’s preparation before the game. That is something that I take a lot of pride in.”

The Blue Jays acquired Espinal from the Red Sox organization in 2018, in a trade deadline deal that sent eventual World Series MVP Steve Pearce to Boston. After making his way up through Toronto’s system with stops at Dunedin, New Hampshire, and Buffalo, Espinal made his major-league debut for the Blue Jays in 2020.

First major-league home run.

His first big-league home run came in a game at Buffalo’s Sahlen Field when the Blue Jays were using it as their temporary home due to the closure of the U.S.-Canada border during the pandemic. In a game against the Tampa Bay Rays, with Toronto leading 4-1 in the sixth inning, Espinal stepped to the plate against Rays reliever Matt Wisler and drilled a two-run home run. He rounded the bases in downtown Buffalo as his teammates celebrated in the third-base dugout.

“I think I looked at the video thirty times that day,” Espinal smiled as he recalled the moment. “I remember, I think it was on a slider, left-center in Buffalo. It was an incredible moment. To see all my teammates jumping around, because they were going crazy about it – it just made me happy. But at the end of the day, I’m so glad that I had the opportunity to play with the Blue Jays and to hit my first homer in the big leagues too. I thank the Blue Jays for that. But it was a great moment as well.”

Celebrating his first big-league home run. Photo Credit: Brian Frank, The Herd Chronicles

After playing in 346 games for the Blue Jays and making the 2022 American League All-Star team, Espinal was traded to Cincinnati during spring training in 2024.

“It’s actually been easier than I thought,” he said of adjusting to a new organization. “Since I got here, everybody has treated me like I’ve been here for like five years. It makes me comfortable. I get along with everybody over here. They treat you well and we’re a family. It’s been easier than I thought. I thought the process was going to be hard, but at the end of the day, they made it easy for me.”

The Reds are in the thick of the National League wild card race this season under new manager Terry Francona. Espinal enjoys playing for his new skipper, a baseball legend who recently notched his 2,000th major-league managerial victory (13th all-time), managed two world championship teams, and won the American League Manager of the Year Award three times.

“It’s been great,” Espinal said of playing for Francona. “He’s a guy that worries about the little things. It’s like we were talking about – if you hit a flyball, you’ve got to run it out. You’ve got to send a message to the other team that no matter what the score is, no matter who you are, you’ve got to run the bases. So, it’s been great so far.”

Espinal with the Cincinnati Reds.

The Reds are currently one of the more exciting young teams in the game, led by phenom Elly De La Cruz. De La Cruz is just 23 years old, has already been an All-Star twice, and led the major leagues with 67 stolen bases last season. He’s widely regarded as one of the game’s brightest rising stars. Espinal has a front row seat to the De La Cruz show, playing alongside the dynamic young shortstop in the Reds’ infield.

“What he can do on the field, it’s incredible – as everybody can see,” Espinal said of playing with De La Cruz. “But what’s most (impressive) is what he does in the locker room. He’s the same guy that you see out there. He’s the same guy every day. It doesn’t matter if he goes 0-for-4 or if he goes 5-for-5, it doesn’t matter, he’s the same guy. To be able to be part of that and to be able to be his teammate has been a blessing.”

And what’s the most amazing thing he’s seen De La Cruz do on the field? He does so many extraordinary things that it’s hard to pin down.

“Oh man,” Espinal said. “I mean obviously stealing bases. I feel like stealing bases for him is just too easy. Hitting a groundball, I feel like every infielder has to be literally panicking because at any moment he can be safe. I feel like the running part is most exciting for me, but also he does everything – he can hit homers, he can run, he can play the infield. But I think to me as an infielder, one of my favorite parts is that he can pick ‘em. He has some range and he looks like a gold glover out there.”

Espinal believes the Reds, two-and-a-half games back of the final wild card spot at the All-Star break, can make a playoff run this season by staying focused on the task at hand on a day-by-day basis.

“I think it all depends on us,” he said. “I think the group of guys we have and how we get along in here, it’s what makes us a good team. I feel like we can worry about the future, but (we need to) worry about what we have to do right now, and worry about the series we have right now with the Marlins, and go out there and compete. That’s what we know how to do. We know we have a great team. We know we have great pitching. We know we have great hitters. All we have to do is just control what we can control and that’s it.”