Blue Jays All-Star dealing with wrist contusion after HBP

Blue Jays infielder Santiago Espinal exited Saturday’s game against the Yankees with what the team called a right wrist contusion, according to Sportsnet’s Ben Nicholson-Smith. Espinal was hit by a Gerrit Cole pitch.

Next steps for Espinal aren’t known at this stage, but more should be known after the match is completed.

Espinal is off to a slow start to the year, hitting just .114/.162/.200 through his first 37 plate appearances (entering play Saturday). The hit by pitch occurred in his first at bat of the day.

The 28-year-old has been a solid enough contributor for the Blue Jays over the past few seasons, putting up good defensive numbers and providing some value with the bat. He debuted in 2020, and posted a .280/.338/.378 line with nine home runs between 2020-22.

Defensively, Espinal has primarily been handling second base this season, but has also filled in at third and shortstop. At second, Espinal was worth 10 outs above average in 2022. He was named to his first All-Star Game in 2022 too.

While it’s not yet known if Espinal will be forced to miss any time, the Blue Jays are fairly well-stocked at second with Whit Merrifield and Cavan Biggio the internal options to handle the bulk of Espinal’s playing time.