Nats positional preview: Second base

No question, Max Scherzer was the biggest offseason acquisition for the Nationals, but the second most important move came in January when general manager Mike Rizzo shipped reliever Tyler Clippard to Oakland for infielder Yunel Escobar. The Nationals have been searching for an answer at second base for a couple seasons.

The plan last year for Anthony Rendon to play at second was scrapped early, once injury forced Ryan Zimmerman to the disabled list. Danny Espinosa stepped back in at second base, but his continued offensive struggles forced Rizzo to acquire Asdrubal Cabrera at the trade deadline. Cabrera's bat didn't end up being a significant upgrade, and during the offseason, the Nats let him leave via free agency and he signed a deal with Tampa Bay.

The 32-year-old Escobar has played primarily as a shortstop throughout his eight seasons in the majors. He hasn't played second base since he appeared in 21 games there in his rookie season in 2007. The lack of experience at the position in the majors didn't seem to affect Rizzo's thought process.

"We got ourselves a really good every-day baseball player that can play shortstop on a regular basis, has done it on a championship-caliber club, and this year fulfills as an upgrade at second base," Rizzo said.

On paper, Escobar certainly appears capable of filling the offensive hole in the Nats lineup. He owns a .276 batting average for his career with 69 home runs and 393 RBIs. His best offensive season came in 2009, when he hit 14 home runs, drove in 76 runs and batted .299. But he hasn't hit above .260 the past three seasons and slashed .258/.324/.340 with seven homers and 39 RBIs last year with Tampa Bay.

Escobar, a Gold Glove finalist in 2012, also experienced his worst season defensively last year. After acquiring him, Rizzo was quick to defend Escobar's recent problems.

"We see Yuni as being an above-average defender at shortstop and at second base," explained Rizzo. "He has been his entire career, except for last year. Last year, he played with a with a soreness in his shoulder that affected a little bit of his throwing, and a quad that affected a little bit of his range. We feel that getting him off the carpet in Tampa Bay and playing on natural grass at Nationals Park will just be a positive for him defensively. We have no qualms about his defense. We think he's an outstanding defensive player that's going to upgrade us offensively and defensively."

Many eyes will be on Espinosa during spring training. After years of struggling from the left side of the plate, Espinosa will reportedly take all at-bats from the right side heading into the 2015 season.

"Danny Espinosa at second base is an extremely good defensive player," Rizzo told MLB Network Radio in January. "From the right side, he had a lot of success against left-handed pitchers last year."

The numbers reflect it. Espinosa owns a lifetime .213 batting average as a left-handed hitter facing right-handed pitching versus a .271 average from the right side against left-handers. Last season, Espinosa had 97 strikeouts in 249 at-bats and hit just .183 from the left side of the plate. However, as a right-handed hitter, he produced three home runs and 10 RBIs while batting .301. We'll see if Espinosa can make the transition after essentially being a switch hitter since he picked up a bat early in his youth.

The Nationals hope they see the Dan Uggla in Viera who once hit 30 or more homers in five straight seasons. It's possible that a diagnosis last fall of oculomotor dysfunction, a condition where eye movement and the ability to track objects are affected, may finally help the 34-year-old recover from a 2012 beaning. Uggla's vision declined the past few seasons and he received a career-low 141 at-bats last year with Atlanta and San Francisco, slashing .149/.229/.213 with 46 strikeouts.

"We signed Dan Uggla, who we think is a guy who is going to come into camp and compete for a job at second base," Rizzo told MLB Network Radio. "If we get the Dan Uggla of a couple years ago, we got lucky and we feel good about where we're at."

Uggla will have a shot to compete at second base if he can find his bat.

Kevin Frandsen started nine games at second base last season and has played 128 games at the position in his seven seasons in the majors. The versatile Frandsen hit .259 with one home run and 17 RBIs while playing four different positions in 2014.

The Nationals also extended non-roster invites to spring training to Emmanuel Burriss and Cutter Dykstra.

Burriss, a Washington D.C., native and graduate of Woodrow Wilson High School, spent the 2014 season with Triple-A Syracuse earning International League All-Star honors after hitting .300 with 18 doubles, seven triples, six homers, 46 RBI, 22 stolen bases and 80 runs scored. The switch-hitting Burris has logged 282 games, mostly at second base, in the majors over five seasons, all with San Francisco. He's been in the minors the past two seasons. The 30-year-old will undoubtedly be one to watch in Viera as he attempts to make it back to the majors in his hometown.

Dykstra advanced to Double-A for the first time in his career in 2014 and was named an Eastern League mid-season All-Star after hitting .297 with 15 doubles, three triples, five home runs, 43 RBI, 10 stolen bases and 39 runs scored in the season's first half. Dykstra, whose father Lenny was a three-time All-Star with the Phillies, was originally drafted in the second round by Milwaukee in 2008.

Rizzo has also been very impressed with Wilmer Difo, who split time between second base and shortstop last season in Single-A Hagerstown, hitting .315 with 14 home runs and 90 RBIs. Difo will be in minor league camp, but may get a look on the major league side.

"This Difo kid, who is a speed, power, defensive guy who was obviously only in A-ball last year, but a guy that turned a lot of heads this year and a guy that we're certainly going to count on in the future, but we'll see how far along he is when he comes to big league camp for the first time," Rizzo said to MLB Network Radio in January.