Washington Nationals: Trea Turner to centerfield?
By Jason Evans
Could the Washington Nationals get creative and use top prospect Trea Turner in centerfield to get him in the lineup?
The Washington Nationals appear to be very happy with Danny Espinosa at short. After struggling the first two months of the year, Espinosa has rebounded a bit in June. Coming into last night’s action, Espinosa was hitting .275/.378/.623 with seven homers and and 12 RBI.
In last year’s Wil Myers three team deal, the Nats picked up top prospect Trea Turner. All Turner has done this year is hit .304 with an .841 OPS and 22 steals. Clearly the 23 year old is ready.
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One position the Nationals haven’t gotten much out of this year offensively is centerfield. Michael Taylor is hitting just .235 and Ben Revere has battled injuries and is hitting just .202 in 41 games.
Turner is a good enough athlete with a bat that can’t be much worse than what Revere and Taylor have shown. Why not see if he can play the position? Well, the Nationals did just that last night.
Trea Turner is starting in CF in Triple-A tonight. Mike Rizzo: "We feel that offensively he's Major League ready." https://t.co/80BoZoO61U
— Alex Putterman (@AlexPutterman) June 27, 2016
I just don’t like the move; I absolutely love the move. Turner’s bat is clearly ready for the show. He can be a spark plug at the top of the lineup for a team coming off a really bad road trip that is struggling. It’s a creative way to get your best nine out there on the field.
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Turner should be a good enough athlete to at least be competent at the position. If it’s close late in games, you can put Turner at short and insert Revere or Taylor to upgrade the defense. If Espinosa starts to struggle again, you can move Turner back to short. It gives you options and flexibility which is important.