After an all-too-familiar year, what does future hold for Espinosa?

As we transition into offseason mode here, we're reviewing each significant player on the Nationals roster. We continue today with Danny Espinosa, who once again tantalized everyone with a midseason power surge, but once again finished with unimpressive numbers because of an inability to consistently make contact.

PLAYER REVIEW: DANNY ESPINOSA

Age on opening day 2017: 29

How acquired: Third-round pick, 2008 draft

MLB service time: 5 years, 113 days

2016 salary: $2.875 million

Contract status: Arbitration-eligible in 2017. Free agent in 2018.

2016 stats: 157 G, 601 PA, 516 AB, 66 R, 108 H, 15 2B, 0 3B, 24 HR, 72 RBI, 9 SB, 2 CS, 54 BB, 174 SO, .209 AVG, .306 OBP, .378 SLG, .684 OPS, 1.7 WAR

Quotable: "He's hard to figure, you know. I mean, he's hard to figure, because he'll strike out in succession, and then he'll hit two home runs. So how do you know when he's about to hit two home runs, and how do you know when he's about to strike out? And if you knew, I wish you would tell me." - Dusty Baker on Danny Espinosa

2016 analysis: Danny Espinosa opened the season with one eye looking back over his shoulder. Many believed he would be the Nationals' starting shortstop only until Trea Turner got some seasoning at Triple-A Syracuse, at which point the organization would promote the young prospect and move Espinosa to the bench (or worse). And that move looked likely to come in early summer; on May 30, Espinosa sported a .198 batting average, .298 on-base percentage, .607 OPS and only five homers.

But then came a sudden and surprising surge. Over his next 30 games, Espinosa hit .313 with a .410 on-base percentage, 1.168 OPS, 13 homers and 31 RBIs. That surge - combined with the massive struggles of Ben Revere and Michael A. Taylor, which opened up center field for Turner - allowed Espinosa to hold the starting shortstop job through the rest of the season.

The rest of the season, though, bore far more resemblance to Espinosa's first two months than his explosive June. Over his final 76 games, he hit .176 with a .270 on-base percentage, .544 OPS, six homers and 102 strikeouts.

Put that all together, and Espinosa was the third least productive offensive player in the majors who received at least 600 plate appearances, his OPS trailing only Alcides Escobar and Freddy Galvis. He did make up for some of his offensive inefficiencies in the field, where he ranked as the 11th-best defensive shortstop in the sport. That ultimately left him as the 19th-best shortstop in the majors, based on WAR.

2017 outlook: Espinosa will once again be a hot topic this winter, the source of frustration for many, the source of faith for others. He's eligible for arbitration one final time, and he'll remain relatively affordable, earning something in the range of $5 million. Are the Nationals willing to give it one more go with him as their everyday shortstop, fully recognizing what he is and what he is not at this stage of his career?

It's difficult to imagine Espinosa will suddenly become a different type of hitter now. He's essentially been the same guy throughout his career - long periods of struggles and inability to make contact, with short bursts of impressive power and production along the way - and he's never truly shown the willingness or ability to change. But he does still hold some value based on the things he does consistently do well.

Much will depend on what the organization decides to do with Turner, who could remain in center field or move back to his natural position in the infield. Either way, there would seem to be some value to keeping Espinosa at least as a fallback option in the infield, given his defense.