Danny Espinosa primed for full-time shot at shortstop

The Nationals selected Danny Espinosa as a slick-fielding shortstop out of Long Beach State University in the third round of the 2008 First-Year Player Draft. By the time Espinosa made his major league debut in September 2010, Ian Desmond was already entrenched as the Nationals shortstop, a position he played for six seasons at a high level.

But with Desmond leaving via free agency and veteran infielder Yunel Escobar traded to the Angels last week, it finally appears that Espinosa will get his shot to be the Nationals' shortstop come opening day.

"That's my goal this year," Espinosa said at Winterfest. "I want to play every day. My goal is to be ready every single day and to have a starting job."

Espinosa proved he was ready every day last year, but it didn't necessarily lead to playing time. The 28-year-old battled through spring training, working on swinging exclusively from the right side after the Nationals asked him to drop switch-hitting based on his struggles batting left-handed. Not only was Dan Uggla a surprise making the Nationals roster out of camp, but the veteran became the opening day second baseman over Espinosa.

In fact, Espinosa didn't see his first action until he started at second base in the fourth game of the year at Philadelphia. When Espinosa stepped in the batter's box leading off the eighth, it was surprisingly from the left side against Phillies right-hander Jeanmar Gomez. Espinosa roped a double and proceeded to have a resurgence at the plate throughout the year.

Espinosa's numbers were still better from the right side - .263/.343/.409 in 91 plate appearances - versus the left side - .232/.300/.409 in 310 plate appearances. But 10 of his 13 homers and 17 of his 21 doubles came as a left-handed hitter. As Espinosa's swing became shorter and less loopy, the results followed. He ended up hitting .240 with a .719 OPS overall.

Throughout the first four months of the season, Espinosa played all over the diamond for the injury-plagued Nationals. Some of those were positions Espinosa never fielded in his life: He appeared in 16 games at third base, five at first base and five in left field.

"It was different," Espinosa said. "There were parts of it that were uncomfortable to my game, to where it wasn't exactly comfortable playing every day in a first base role or a left field role. The infield I enjoy. Playing short, second and third - I enjoy those three infield positions. Playing first is very different. Fortunately, it got me more at-bats in the outfield and a little more at first base, but I prefer staying up the middle."

But when Anthony Rendon, Ryan Zimmerman and Jayson Werth returned in late July from lengthy stints on the disabled list, Espinosa's playing time dwindled. He made just 14 starts after July 26, hitting .197 as many of his plate appearances became pinch-hitting opportunities.

"There were days where it was tough, going on seven, eight or nine days without playing. At a certain point, it's frustrating," he said. "At a certain time, it's like, 'I'm at nine days now, when's the next time I'm going to get an at-bat?' To stay mentally tuned into everything when you haven't had an at-bat in a week and a half, that's tough. I tried to do the best I could with my opportunities. But it's just like everybody else, if you're not playing every day, then it's tough to take those at-bats against the eighth- and ninth-inning guys. To keep your confidence and everything up as you're facing plus-plus velocity every at-bat, it's not easy. There was good days and there was bad days, but the competitor in you wants to be out there every single day.

"I thought I did what I needed to do in the first half or the first 300 at-bats to where I thought I should be out there a little bit more and that wasn't the case. That's not how I was treated. You move on and this is a new year. I'm ready to go again. I'm ready to move on."

Espinosa's season eventually succumbed to the Nationals' injury woes when he suffered a torn attachment in his right hamstring, forcing him to miss the final two weeks. He says there are zero issues with the hamstring now and he's 100 percent.

Beyond Espinosa, the Nationals have little big league experience in the middle infield with rookies Trea Turner and Wilmer Difo on the 40-man roster. General manager Mike Rizzo wants to add a veteran second baseman, but Espinosa looks to be the frontrunner at shortstop. He said he'll make that known to new manager Dusty Baker when he gets the chance.

"I do want to be at shortstop," Espinosa said. "That's where I would like to play. That's where home is for me. That's where I'm comfortable. That's where I grew up playing. That's where the Nationals drafted me as, as a shortstop. I moved to second base because Ian was there, but I am very confident in my abilities at shortstop and I'd like to get back there."