What role is best for Espino and Nationals in 2022?

PLAYER REVIEW: PAOLO ESPINO

Age on opening day 2022: 35

How acquired: Signed as minor league free agent, November 2020

MLB service time: 1 year, 78 days

2021 salary: $570,500

Contract status: Under team control, arbitration-eligible in 2024, free agent in 2027

2021 stats: 5-5, 4.27 ERA, 35 G, 19 GS, 0 CG, 1 SV, 109 2/3 IP, 108 H, 53 R, 52 ER, 19 HR, 25 BB, 92 SO, 1 HBP, 1.213 WHIP, 95 ERA+, 4.46 FIP, 1.1 fWAR, 1.0 bWAR

Quotable: "When I was drafted (in 2006), I thought I was going to be in the big leagues by my fifth year. It definitely took a lot longer than I was hoping, or my family was hoping, or everybody was hoping. But it was also worth it. I'm just happy it finally came true." - Paolo Espino

2021 analysis: Paolo Espino wasn't on anyone's radar when the season began. The journeyman right-hander had made two late-season appearances for the Nationals in 2020, but he came to spring training as a non-roster invitee, wasn't in competition for a spot in the opening day rotation and probably wasn't the club's first choice for a fill-in starter. But when Stephen Strasburg had to be scratched from his April 18 outing against the Diamondbacks, Espino was the guy who was on schedule and available on short notice. Who knew how everything would play out from there?

After a solid emergency start, Espino earned the right to stick around in the bullpen. He became manager Davey Martinez's secret weapon, a jack-of-all-trades who could take the ball at any time in any role without issue, truly a valuable member of the staff. Never was this more on display than in mid-June, when the right-hander tossed five scoreless innings against the Pirates to earn his long-awaited first major league win, then pitched the ninth inning of a wild 13-12 game in Philadelphia seven days later to earn his first career save.

Espino ultimately found his way into the Nationals rotation on a permanent basis after Strasburg, Erick Fedde and Joe Ross suffered injuries. And by season's end, he legitimately was the club's most reliable starter, even if his ERA slowly rose from the 2.00s to the 3.00s to the 4.00s.

2022 outlook: You wouldn't think a 35-year-old with 1,500 1/3 career minor league innings and only 139 2/3 career big league innings would figure prominently into a rebuilding club's plans. But Espino absolutely should figure into the Nationals' plans next season. It's just a question of what role is best for him and the team.

As a starter, Espino was effective, if not dominant enough to pitch deep into games. He completed six innings only once and never threw more than 92 pitches in one appearance. Some of that was by design, some of it was understandable hesitance to leave him in long enough to face opposing hitters more than twice.

As a reliever, Espino also was effective, and showed he could pitch in late innings, middle innings, short or long relief. That kind of rubber arm is especially valuable on a staff that figures to have plenty of unproven or potentially injured pitchers in prominent roles next season.

If the Nationals can get five other guys good enough to fill out the rotation, Espino would be a natural fit as a long reliever and swingman in the bullpen. He'd be able to pitch multiple innings multiple times a week, and also be able to jump in and start in case of emergency. It may not be the most glamorous job in the majors, but as we've seen, this is the last pitcher in baseball who cares about perception.