One of the top storylines of the Cleveland Guardians’ training camp so far has been the comeback story of Daniel Espino.
After missing nearly two years of development after two major shoulder surgeries, Espino is healthy and back on the mound, reminding everyone why he was considered one of the top pitching prospects in all of baseball at one point.
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On Sunday, the Guardians made a roster decision with Espino, along with several other players, to start the 2026 season.
Espino will begin the regular season at Triple-A Columbus, after the Guardians optioned him to the minors to begin the week.
Espino wraps up his stint with the Major League Spring Training camp, throwing 25 pitches over 2.0 innings in a pair of outings. He only gave up one hit, struck out three batters, and didn’t issue any walks. His fastball velocity didn’t quite hit triple-digits, but it got pretty close.
Even as encouraging as the 25-year-old has looked so far in Spring Training, starting the season with the big-league team was truly never in the cards for him.
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Stephen Vogt said they want Espino to impact the big-league team in some capacity during the year. With that in mind, the organization will be incredibly mindful of his buildup and workload.
Optioning Daniel Espino wasn’t the only roster move the Guardians made on Sunday. Cleveland also optioned RHP Franco Aleman to Columbus and reassigned Ryan Webb and Alfonsin Rosario to Minor League Camp.
Of this group, both Aleman and Webb could help the big-league team at some point in 2026.
Aleman could’ve made his MLB debut at some point in 2025 if it wasn’t for an injury early on in the year, and he never seemed to find his footing on the mound. He appeared in four games and threw 3.2 innings this spring, allowed two runs (4.91 ERA), issued three walks, gave up five hits, and struck out two batters.
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As for Webb, he could end up being a starting option for the Guardians at some point. He gave up four hits, two earned runs, issued one walk, and struck out four batters in three appearances this spring.
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