Hall of Fame first baseman Willie McCovey won the 1959 National League Rookie of the Year Award, but right after the second 1960 All-Star Game (they played two each year from 1959 to 1962), he found himself back in the minor leagues. It was a short stay, just a couple of weeks to relax a bit and find his stroke again. It was no big deal really, just a precautionary move by the Giants. Future Hall of Famer Jim Thome made a few trips back to the minors after first coming up with Cleveland in the early 1990s. Like McCovey, he slumped badly and went back to the bushes to get straightened out. There are multiple other examples.
With the imminent return of Ryan Zimmerman to active status, the Nationals must make a corresponding roster move. The most obvious one would be to replace one right-handed bat with another and send Tyler Moore back to Syracuse. No one will be shocked if that’s their decision. It’s hard not to wonder, however, whether there’s not some justification for sending Danny Espinosa down for a refresher course in hitting.
To say Espinosa has struggled at the plate this year would be an understatement. Entering Saturday’s game with Philadelphia, he had whiffed 32 times in 91 at-bats. That’s almost as bad as former Nationals player Adam Dunn, who had notched 39 in 92 at-bats through Friday.
It’s pretty apparent that manager Davey Johnson really likes Espinosa. He bristles at the suggestion of replacing Espinosa as the everyday second baseman, but a couple of other factors may be at play.
First of all, Espinosa has options left, so there’s no chance the Nats would lose him to a waiver claim. Second, Steve Lombardozzi has displayed an ability to put the ball in play consistently — he struck out just four times in his first 50 at-bats — and plays above-average defense. No, he’s not as much of a power threat, but with just a single home run and a couple of RBI, Espinosa’s not exactly tearing it up either. The third factor is the club’s overall inability to string hits together and push runs across the plate.
The sentiment that sending Espinosa down would destroy his confidence seems a little late. With a batting average that dipped into the .180s last week– something he’s probably never had to endure before — Espinosa’s confidence already may be bruised.
Look, this club sent its top winner and innings eater from last year — John Lannan — to the minor leagues at the end of spring training. The circumstances aren’t the same, but we’re still talking about two young players who see themselves as major leaguers. A brief stint in the minors may get Espinosa back to where he was in the first half of 2011: hitting .250 with power and showing incredible range at second base.
Better players than Espinosa have sucked it up, gone back down and returned refreshed. The Nats have shown they’re willing to make tough decisions; this situation is no different.
Examiner columnist Phil Wood co-hosts the “Mid-Atlantic Sports Report” and is a regular contributor to “Nats Xtra” on MASN. Contact him at philwood @washingtonexaminer.com.
