Espinosa becoming the reason to watch the Nats

Right before our eyes Danny Espinosa is becoming not only an all-star worthy player, but also the most exciting player on the Nationals. Is he the best player on the Nats or the face of the franchise? No, that moniker will remain with Ryan Zimmerman for the foreseeable future (despite the many attempts to remove pass on that title to Strasburg, Werth and, soon, Bryce Harper). Is he the most expensive player on the Nats roster? No, and I think we all know who will have that title for the foreseeable future. But Espinosa is the kind of player that could easily become the most popular player on the Nats. He plays the game the right ways. He hits the long home runs (everyone loves dingers!), makes incredible defensive plays and is aggressive on the basepaths (despite Davey Johnson’s best efforts). Frankly, I think it’s a travesty that he hasn’t been named to the all-star team yet, especially with the litany of “injury” replacements that are now coming out. Until Strasburg returns and brings his record crowds with him, or until Harper is called up and starts hitting moonshot home runs, the reason to watch the Nats is Espinosa.

For the future though, the question remains where Espinosa will finally settle. Given his performance this year, I don’t think it’s out of the question to consider Espinosa a potential perennial all-star at second base. But would the Nationals be better served moving him to shortstop? He certainly has the arm to be able to play shortstop. He played shortstop for almost all of his time in the minors, so it’s not like he hasn’t played the position in a while. Every Nats fan recognizes that, after a promising first season, Ian Desmond’s production has fallen off precipitously. And Anthony Rendon should move fast through the minor leagues, assuming he can get fully healthy after some shoulder troubles this past season at Rice. I would argue that you don’t mess with a good thing. You certainly don’t move Espinosa until Rendon is banging down the door. I think that Espinosa’s power/defensive combination is rare to find at second base, and the Nationals would be doing them and Espinosa a disservice if they moved him. Besides, maybe Ian Desmond will get things turned around soon (uhhhh…but don’t hold your breath on that one).