Rendon's deft third base fielding a reminder of what could have been

Seeing Anthony Rendon work at third base on Monday afternoon against the Reds, then Tuesday and Wednesday night in Atlanta, reminds us of what could have been if he was healthy from the beginning of the season. Rendon ended last season in the 2014 National League Division Series with a pretty good four games at the plate, hitting .368 (7-for-19) with one RBI, one walk and one stolen base. His on-base percentage in the series was .400 and he committed no errors. Only Bryce Harper and Rendon had good results at the plate on a consistent basis in that series. Each game the Nationals lost was by one run. Rendon came into this season with deserving accolades, finishing fifth in the N.L. MVP race and earning a Silver Slugger award. To begin 2015, Rendon was injured in spring training. He missed 52 games with a left quad strain. Then in late June he suffered a left quad strain and missed an additional 25 games. During that time, Yunel Escobar played third base, not his natural position. When Rendon came back, the Nationals kept Escobar at third base because he had played the spot all season. So in 2015, Rendon has played 58 games at second base. His fielding percentage is .984 and has committed four errors. His total zone total fielding runs per 1,200 innings was minus-13. This projection is a formula that devises the total number of runs above or below average the fielder was worth to calculate an overall defensive contribution from baseballprojection.com. In 26 games at third base, his fielding percentage is 1.000. He has had only 43 chances at third base while he had 243 chances at second base this season. Last season, Rendon played 134 games at third base (153 games overall), batting .287 with 39 doubles, six triples, 21 homers and 83 RBIs. But watching him single glove hot shots that reach him at third and deliver them to first base, sometimes bare handing plays, reminds us of his capability at third as a defender for an entire season. MASN's Ray Knight commented on Rendon's ability to play third base during Wednesday night's postgame show, a position he was familiar with in his playing days. He said it's not easy to play the spot and Rendon has great defensive fundamentals with his leg work, glove transition and arm strength while on the move. Rendon also does a nice job of going after grounders that come at him with men on base. Instead of waiting for the ball to come to him, Rendon goes after the ball, moving forward, improving his angle to each base. That split second saved gives him a better chance of starting the 5-4-3 and completing the double play instead of having to settle for a fielder's choice. It would be interesting to watch next season if he returns to third base, Escobar moves to shortstop and Trea Turner plays second base. Danny Espinosa is arbitration eligible in 2016, and if he is still in the mix he could be the starter at second base while Turner builds innings and experience as a utility infielder off the bench with the added dimension of speed. Turner could be next year's Michael A. Taylor. Many thought Taylor would be first off the bench and he ended up playing 135 games so far this season.