The Blue Jays have traded Santiago Espinal to the Reds for pitcher Chris McElvain.
McElvain is a 23-year-old right-handed pitcher who was an 8th-round pick in 2022. Last year, he pitched in Dayton A+ and Daytona A. He pitched in 23 games, 19 starts, and had a 3.75 ERA. In 96 innings, he allowed 85 hits, 9 home runs, 41 walks, and 87 strikeouts.
FanGraphs says:
McElvain spent his first couple of years at Vanderbilt in the bullpen, then moved to the rotation in his draft year. He has a plus two-plane breaking ball and his fastball plays up due to its riding life, but it isn’t hard enough to miss bats within the zone, so McElvain needs to live above the zone to avoid getting hurt. For this reason, he was walk-prone in 2022, but his command actually isn’t bad — it’s just what he has to do to get by. Because he’s so new to a rotation, he may just be scratching the surface in some pitchability areas (that’s where the changeup projection is derived from here), but Vanderbilt isn’t a school that tends to leave developmental meat on the bone, and it’s rare for pitchers moving from the ‘pen to the rotation to add velocity, something McElvain will ideally do. The Reds didn’t send him to an affiliate after the draft, so he’s poised to be rested for the start of 2023, important context to keep in mind if he’s throwing harder at the onset of camp.
So, a lottery pick. And it opens a spot on our 40-man roster.
Espinal played in the All-Star game in 2022 but hasn’t been as good since. He seemed well-liked on the bench. There is value to a utility infielder who can play short, but we are up to our armpits in utility infielders.
Good luck, Santiago and Welcome Chris.
