The Toronto Blue Jays announced today that RHP PAOLO ESPINO and C PAYTON HENRY have signed Minor
League contracts and have been invited toDE Major League Spring Training.
Espino pitched for the Washington Nationals in season, his fourth consecutive season in the Majors. The righty spent
the past two seasons splitting time between the Nationals’ starting rotation and the bullpen, making 19 starts in 2021
and 2022.
In 2023, the 36-year-old made 13 starts for the Rochester Red Wings, the Bisons’ closest opponent. Espino made 13
starts for the Red Wings, including two versus Buffalo. His final Triple-A appearance of the 2023 season came on
July 9 at Innovative Field, where he pitched 6.0 innings for Rochester in a loss to the Herd.
The Cleveland Indians originally selected Espino in the tenth round of the 2006 Major League Baseball Draft. In
2017, the right-hander made his Major League debut with the Milwaukee Brewers, appearing in six games. He also
spent time with the Texas Rangers. The veteran has made 94 total MLB appearances, including portions of five
seasons.
He has also earned 120 career Triple-A starts out of 154 total Triple-A appearances. Espino has a career record of 46-
42 at Triple-A, including two complete games.
Henry enters the Blue Jays organization after spending the 2023 season with the Nashville Sounds, Milwaukee’s
Triple-A club. He was the Brewers’ sixth-round choice in the 2016 MLB Draft before being traded to the Miami
Marlins in 2021 in exchange for RHP John Curtiss.
The 26-year-old made his Major League Baseball debut with the Marlins on September 17, 2021 against the
Pittsburgh Pirates. In the fifth inning, he doubled off RHP Wil Crowe for his first Major League hit. Henry has played
in 20 MLB games, all with Miami between the 2021 and 2022 seasons.
Henry returned to the Brewers system last season, playing 65 games with the Sounds. He batted.378 (17-45) in May,
with five multi-hit games, three of which came in the first half of the month. The backstop also hit.300 (9-30) in
September, finishing the season with an overall.294 batting average, 9 home runs, and 35 RBI.
