Danny Espinosa smacked two hits and scored a run in the Washington Nationals’ 3-1 win over the Atlanta Braves Wednesday night. Did the Nats make the right choice in naming him the Opening Day shortstop?
When the Nationals finally made it official that Trea Turner would be beginning his season in the minors, I’ll admit I was a little disappointed. Despite the fact that both Dusty Baker and Mike Rizzo had made it clear all along that that was their plan from the beginning, there was still a part of me that held on to the faint hope that we’d be seeing Turner in a Nats uniform on Opening Day.
The move makes sense. Pushing back a young player’s service clock while he sharpens his skills in AAA for a few months is usually a pretty intelligent idea. However, Turner brings a level of excitement and high upside that incumbent shortstop Danny Espinosa cannot match. With Espinosa’s long history of low batting averages and high strikeout rates, I wasn’t very optimistic about what he brought to the table in 2016.
Well, Danny doesn’t care about what I or any other doubter thinks, and he’s proving that out on the field. He’s gone 3-for-7 in his first two games with a double, a walk, and a run scored, while providing a defensive presence that could rival any shortstop in the league. After turning a few nifty plays up the middle, I’ve come to realize that Espinosa may just be exactly what this team needs.
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From 2011-2012, Espinosa appeared in 318 out of 324 possible games, hitting .242/.319/.408 with 38 home runs, 37 stolen bases, 66 doubles, 122 RBIs, and 154 runs scored. He also ranked fourth in all of baseball in strikeouts over that span, but was a defensive anchor at second base. That was the last time Danny Espinosa was an everyday player, and he wasn’t even playing his preferred position.
Now, is that slash line impressive? Not really. Does he strike out way too much? Absolutely. But Espinosa was only 25 when the 2012 season came to a close. He turns 29 at the end of the month, and his best season may be in front of him. If he hits 30 doubles, swipes 20 bases, and drives in 60 runs, what more does Turner really bring to the table?
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While the signing of Daniel Murphy certainly strengthened the lineup, it made Washington weaker up the middle defensively. Turner is a decent defender, but Espinosa’s Gold Glove-caliber skills will help balance out Murphy’s shortcomings up the middle.
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I’m not saying that Danny Espinosa is going to evolve into a Silver Slugger, or even that he should be the Nats’ everyday shortstop by the end of the season. However, we’re stuck with him in the lineup for now, and Nats fans should give him a chance. He just may be in for a better season than you might think.