Toronto Blue Jays Sign Danny Espinosa
Today the Toronto Blue Jays went out and added to their middle infield depth by signing Danny Espinosa to a minor league contract. Espinosa had a horrendous 2017 season and was struggling in spring training before being released by the Yankees.
Espinosa isn't going to move the needle much for this Blue Jays squad, but he is an 8 year MLB veteran who is only a year removed from a 1.7 fWAR season in which he hit 24 home runs.
The biggest thing Espinosa brings to the table at this point is his defence. Espinosa is one of the best defensive second basemen in the game. Among players with as many innings as him at second base last year he ranked 4th in UZR/150. His 5.2 UZR/150 was actually down from his career rate of 7.8. He is also no slouch at shortstop. For his career he has a 3.3 UZR/150, easily above average. He also has limited experience at third base, first base and left field.
The problem with Espinosa is his bat. In 2017 he had a very Ryan Goins-esque season at the plate and produced a 41 wrc+. His strikeout rate had always been a problem, but it jumped to a career high 36.9%. His swinging strike rate was an abysmal 20% in 2017 and that simply won't cut it if he hopes to contribute in the majors. This spring his strikeout rate is 27% and that would be enough of an improvement that he could hit just enough and let his glove do the talking.
Also of concern is that Espinosa's power disappeared in 2017. His HR/FB was the second lowest of his career at 9.1% and well below his career average of 13.5%. His .105 ISO was a career low. If Espinosa can re-gain his power stroke it would be nice to have a home run hitter than can come off the bench.
Espinosa's skill-set at this point in his career probably makes him best suited as a bench player. The Blue Jays are likely to start the season with Aledmys Diaz getting most of the starts at shortstop and Yangervis Solarte filling in here and there. Neither Diaz or Solarte are strong defenders at shortstop. Having Espinosa on the bench means he can be a defensive sub late in close games and the team won't have to worry as much about a defensive miscue costing them the game. This also means Espinosa's poor bat is less of a factor and it allows Gibbons to play to everyone's strengths. Being a bench player would allow Gibbons to work around Espinosa's deficiencies and put him in situations where he is most likely to succeed.
As a minor league deal this is a nice pick-up. He is likely an upgrade over Gift Ngoepe and there is real upside if he can hit better than he did last season. At the very least the Jays get a defensive specialist. As the potential 25th man on the roster he doesn't have to be a star to earn his keep. Since it's a minor league deal he will have to earn his way onto the team. If it doesn't work out it won't cost the team a thing to cut him loose. Considering he was worth 4.0 fWAR in just over 1000 plate appearances in 2015-2016 it's worth giving the guy a shot.
