"Love you forever": Blue Jays' Santiago Espinal announces engagement

Feb 13 2023, 3:57 pm

While he’ll be aiming to add a World Series one to his hands this fall, Toronto Blue Jays infielder Santiago Espinal added a different kind of ring to his collection over the weekend.

In a post shared to his Instagram feed, Espinal announced his engagement to longtime partner, Alejandra Mata.

 

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A post shared by Santiago Espinal (@stgo1313)

“Love you forever can’t wait to spend the rest of our life together,” Espinal wrote, while adding a series of heart and ring emojis.

“You are… My best friend, My person, My safe place, And now my FIANCÉ, I will love you for a lifetime and more,” Mata wrote in her own post announcing the engagement, sharing a series of highlights of their relationship over the years.

 

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A post shared by Alejandra Mata (@alejandra_mata)

Per Mata’s Instagram feed, the pair appear to have been dating at least as far back as 2016, the same year Espinal was selected by the Boston Red Sox in the 10th round of the MLB Amateur Draft.

Espinal is heading into his fourth season in the major leagues, all of which have been with the Blue Jays. In 2022, the 28-year-old native of the Dominican Republic was named to his first MLB All-Star game. Last year, Espinal batted .267 with 120 hits, seven homers, 51 RBIs, and 51 runs scored in 135 games for Toronto. He also played in the postseason for the first time in his major league career, picking up two hits in four plate appearances for the team in their Wild Card round loss to the Seattle Mariners.

He’s expected to arrive at Toronto’s spring training in Dunedin later this week, with the team kicking off their preseason schedule on February 25 with a game against the Pittsburgh Pirates.

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