CLEVELAND — Daniel Espino is a textbook tale of perseverance. He’s a reason to admire every movement: the deep breath when the bullpen door swings open, the adrenaline-fueled jog to the mound, the scribbling of the No. 14 behind the rubber.Espino is grateful for every moment because none of these moments — which he’ll soon experience for the first time as a big leaguer — seemed plausible at one point or another. The shoulder surgery. The struggle to even muster 70 mph on his throws. The second shoulder surgery. The monotony in the Arizona desert, where time and his development as a pitcher stood still. The unexpected loss of his father and their treasured bond.What did Espino learn most about himself through four years of anguish?“How resilient I am,” he said Friday afternoon at Progressive Field. As he uttered those four words without hesitation, he couldn’t help but flash a wide smile. He’s been beaming for a few days now. Crying, too. But mostly beaming.“The sense of gratitude that I have,” he said, “I can’t even describe it.”The Cleveland Guardians promoted Espino to the big-league roster Friday. Andy Tracy, the manager at Triple-A Columbus, delivered the news to him after their game Wednesday afternoon.“This kid’s been through everything you could think of and then some,” Guardians manager Stephen Vogt said. “… It’s a great story.”That story began at 15, when Espino left Panama to pursue a professional career in the United States. He never could have imagined the steady dose of adversity he’d encounter along the way. A first-round pick whose fastball routinely reached triple digits, a top prospect who projected as a can’t-miss ace, had four seasons essentially wiped from his register.As he played catch along the left-field line Friday afternoon, he thought about a game of long toss he participated in on those same blades of grass seven years earlier. The big-league dream seemed close then. Baseball, life and misfortune made him wait.Cleveland selected him with the 24th pick that summer. By 2021, he was posting gaudy strikeout totals in A-ball, and at the start of the 2022 season, he made Double-A hitters look hapless. On April 23, 2022, he racked up 14 strikeouts in five innings against the Bowie Baysox. He delivered another strong effort six days later. And then he didn’t appear in another professional game for 1,241 days.“I saw him in spring training in ’22, and I was like, ‘This is the best pitcher I’ve ever seen,’” teammate Tanner Bibee said. “And I still feel that way, honestly. It’s, like, the most electric stuff I’ve ever seen, and for how much he’s gone through, it’s honestly a miracle that he was able to do that. But that attests to how hard of a worker he is and how good of a teammate (he is).“I’ve never seen so many people so excited to see a person debut.”To overcome the surgeries — one in May 2023 and another in March 2024 — and conquer the ensuing rehab processes required plenty of support. Espino thanked his family, the Goodyear, Ariz., staff, clubhouse attendants, team chefs, medical personnel and pitching coaches. He described each member of the network as having “put a little bit of salt into the seasoning. I’m just a product of that.”He was closest, however, with his father, Danilo, a doctor in Panama who specialized in treating patients with ulcers or diabetes. Danilo was known for his comforting confidence and, as his son put it, saving “a lot of fingers and a lot of legs.”Danilo dealt with prostate cancer with that same reassuring attitude, which made it all the more shocking when he died in November 2023 as the rest of the family was preparing to fly home for Thanksgiving. Espino said his dad “never showed pain” and “never had a bad day.”Danilo won’t get to watch his son pitch in the big leagues, but Espino will honor him every game with the number on his uniform. Espino chose 41, the inverse of 14, a nod to his father’s birthday of Feb. 14.The rest of the family ventured to Cleveland to watch Espino occupy a seat in the center-field bullpen. That includes his mom, who he insists will drown out the rest of the crowd with her relentless hollering whenever he takes the mound. His girlfriend and his two brothers made the trip, too.Espino’s grandmother has refused to travel to see him pitch. She didn’t fly with the rest of the family to Columbus last September when he pitched in his first game in nearly 3 1/2 years. Even when it seemed far-fetched, she told him she was holding out for his major-league debut.At long last, Grandma got on a flight.This isn’t the script Espino would have written. But if his resiliency demonstrates anything, it’s that he does have some say in how the next act unfolds.“Whatever is thrown at me,” Espino said, “I’m ready to attack it.”Jun 13, 2026Connections: Sports EditionSpot the pattern. Connect the termsFind the hidden link between sports terms