Blue Jays announce pair of roster moves prior to early-afternoon matchup vs. Orioles

The new-look Toronto Blue Jays are preparing to take on the new-look Baltimore Orioles in an early-afternoon matchup on Wednesday. The Jays waited until the last second to formally promote their starting pitcher for the contest, Paolo Espino, who is officially up from Triple-A (X link).

Heading back down to Triple-A is reliever Jose Cuas, who pitched in Tuesday night's game and struggled to get through his inning of work. Despite walking three batters, he managed to get through without allowing a run, but he has yet to look like a serviceable arm at the big league level.

Blue Jays recall Paolo Espino, option Jose Cuas

Espino, 37, has two relief appearances under his belt this year for the Blue Jays, and they haven't exactly been pretty. The six-year veteran has allowed four runs on eight hits with two walks and two strikeouts. It's a 4.2-inning sample size, but he, like Cuas, has yet to show any real promise at the game's highest level.

Down in the minor leagues, things haven't been much better. Espino has made 13 starts (12 in Triple-A, one in the FCL) and has a combined 4.91 ERA with 41 strikeouts and 18 walks in 66 innings of work. His hits per nine is above 10, which you don't like to see, but he's done a solib job at limiting the longball. Above all, Espino provides something the organization needs more of at the big league and minor league levels: an innings sponge. He's essentially another Wes Parsons.

Cuas has bounced around a bit since debuting in 2022, and his numbers had been decent prior to the current campaign. There's promise there for sure (3.84 ERA and 113 ERA+ in 119 games between 2022 and 2023), but he's struggled with his control for the Jays and can't be trusted in any sort of leverage spots.

The 30-year-old has six minor league appearances under his belt for the Buffalo Bisons, where he has struck out seven and walked two across 6.2 innings.

In a bit of brighter news, Joey Loperfido, one of the prized pieces coming back from the Astros in the Yusei Kikuchi deal, is batting second in his Blue Jays debut.