All talk about Trea Turner for 2016, but where will Danny Espinosa fit in?

The Nationals will have to adjust their infield next season with the departure of longtime shortstop Ian Desmond. Of the in-house candidates, should Yunel Escobar, Trea Turner or Danny Espinosa take over?

Escobar has played most of his career as a shortstop. Last season, he played third base for the Nationals with Anthony Rendon out to begin the season due to injury. Escobar played 134 games at third base and hit a career-high .314. He had last played third base in 2007 with the Braves for 22 games.

With Desmond playing shortstop, Espinosa has played 522 games at second base and 59 games at shortstop since 2010.

Turner has been called the shortstop of the future in some publications, but he played only six games at shortstop with the Nationals and 12 games at second base. He has played 161 minor league games at shortstop.

Escobar is not a free agent until 2017. Espinosa is arbitration-eligible in 2016 and becomes a free agent in 2018.

One query I had during my visit with the Better Sports Club of Arlington meeting last night was about Espinosa. What about Espinosa as the starting shortstop next season and Turner at second base? It would seem that Escobar would get the first crack at shortstop and have Espinosa or Turner play second base.

Turner has not had that much experience after playing for four different teams and two organizations this past season, most of the games in the minor leagues. Turner will not play in the Arizona Fall League as was originally planned. Instead, he will get the time off and a chance to build for 2016. He will get his shot in spring training to show what he can do to try to win the job at shortstop or second base.

As my colleague Chris Johnson wrote this morning, former Padres manager Bud Black knows Turner well, and if Black gets the manager job, that could help the top infield prospect in his quest to secure a starting spot with the Nationals. A lot could change when the new manager and his coaching staff view the talent on this Nationals team and decide where to employ them in 2016.

But will Espinosa's role change in 2016 and will he finally get a shot to win a starting spot again? He certainly has the defensive tools that really are worth a run every two or three innings anyway, even if he hits .220 or in that neighborhood. Espinosa hit .240 in 2015, his best mark since .247 in 2012.

And if it is Escobar and Turner, is Espinosa your top bench bat alongside Clint Robinson? Or does the veteran Espinosa start and let the rookie Turner learn and get at-bats as a bench player?

A fresh look and leadership direction from the next manager of the Nationals could produce a reinvigorated lineup with parts from the old way employed in a new way in the infield of 2016.

That may mean a new responsibility for a veteran such as Espinosa.