Espino to skip WBC, stay in Nationals camp

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – Paolo Espino was immensely proud when Panama qualified for the World Baseball Classic for the first time since 2009, and he was excited to represent his home country in next month’s international tournament.

But when the final bracket was unveiled and Panama was placed in Pool A, which will hold its first-round games in Taiwan, Espino came to a difficult conclusion: He couldn’t go.

Though he remains on Panama’s preliminary WBC roster, Espino said he has opted not to participate, citing his need to remain with the Nationals this spring as he tries to make the Opening Day roster.

“It’s just too far to go,” the right-hander said. “I would have to miss too much of camp, and I know I have work to do here.”

Panama’s first-round games are set to be played March 8-11 against the four other competitors in Pool A: Taiwan, Kingdom of the Netherlands, Cuba and Italy. Players will need to report to camps a week prior to that for workouts and exhibitions.

The top two teams that advance out of Pool A will go on to the quarterfinals round, which will be held March 15-16 in Tokyo. If Panama were to make it that far, Espino would’ve been away from the Nationals more than two weeks.

Espino did say he remains available to pitch if the team has an emergency, and he would join the club if it advances all the way to the semifinals, which are being held March 19-20 in Miami. But the odds of that happening are slim.

Disappointed as he is, Espino said his past experience pitching in the WBC helped soften the blow. He was on Panama’s roster in both 2006 and 2009, and he pitched in the qualifying stage for the 2013 and 2017 tournaments, though his team ultimately did not advance.

Espino spent the entire 2022 season on the Nationals’ big league roster, beginning in the bullpen before transitioning to the rotation, but he’s not guaranteed to make it this spring. The Nats plan to stretch him out as a starter this spring, but he’s more likely competing for a long-relief job alongside Cory Abbott and Rule 5 draft pick Thad Ward.

Espino was one of three members of the Nationals’ 40-man roster named to their countries’ preliminary WBC rosters. First baseman/DH Joey Meneses (Mexico) is scheduled to travel to Arizona for first-round games in Pool C. Right-hander Erasmo Ramirez (Nicaragua) needs only to drive to Miami for first-round games in Pool D.