Anderson Espinoza

BIOGRAPHY

Anderson Espinoza was born March 9, 1998, in Caracas, Venezuela. He is a pitcher in the MLB.

Espinoza joined the Dominican Summer League Red Sox 2 on June 1, 2015. He made quick work of that circuit, allowing only two earned runs on 13 hits and two walks for a 1.20 ERA, while striking out 21 batters in 15.0 innings. In addition to a strong statistical performance, his fastball was reported to touch 99 mph sometimes. He then earned a promotion to the rookie level Gulf Coast League Red Sox late in the month. Instead of finding himself challenged, Espinoza was even more dominant there, giving up just three earned runs in 40 innings, good for a 0.68 ERA to go with a .170 opponents batting average and 40 strikeouts against nine walks, helping the GCL Red Sox clinch their second title in a row. The precocious right-hander completed his third level of the season with his promotion to the Low A Greenville Drive, and made his first pitching appearance on September 5. With his debut, Espinoza became the first pitcher in his age 17 season to make a start in the full-season Single A South Atlantic League since 2006, when Deolis Guerra did it for the New York Mets affiliate Hagerstown Suns. In 15 starts between three levels, Espinoza posted a 1.23 ERA with 0.99 WHIP while striking out 65 in 58⅓ innings. He was kept on a strict four-inning limit per game.

The Padres added Espinoza to their 40-man roster after the 2018 season.

In early May 2021, Espinoza appeared in a regular-season game for the first time since 2016, pitching two scoreless innings for Fort Wayne.

On July 30, 2021, Espinoza was traded to the Chicago Cubs in exchange for Jake Marisnick. He was assigned to the South Bend Cubs.