New York Yankees: Danny Espinosa signing a solid insurance move

Danny Espinosa might not be in a New York Yankees uniform at any point this season. But in case everything in the middle infield goes south, they have several backup plans, including the former Nationals player.

Danny Espinosa hasn’t been relevant in the MLB since his days in Washington. Even then, his inability to make contact overshadowed his powerful swing. But he could prove to be a smart sign for the New York Yankees.

Granted, that’s if he ever finds his way to the majors again.

Dan Uggla essentially handed the torch to Espinosa. Both represent a common group of players with loads of power, but not much contact ability.

Espinosa, along with Joey Gallo, are today’s epitome of that type of player. Espinosa never hit better than .247 in any of his first eight seasons. Yet, he swatted double-digit bombs in four of those years, including a career-high 24 jacks in 2016.

The Angels took a chance on the second baseman last season, but he fell flat early on. In just 254 plate appearances, he garnered just 37 hits while piling on 91 strikeouts. His OPS was a lowly .513, hence he was cut from the team.

But both the Mariners and Rays offered the veteran an opportunity. He didn’t make a lasting impression, as he didn’t have any sort of deal prior to Friday.

Despite his poor numbers last season, he could be an asset in Triple-A Scranton as a shortstop. He will likely team up with other middling veteran Jace Peterson.

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Gleyber Torres seems to be in line to take over at second base in the near future. Without Starlin Castro, manager Aaron Boone will rely on Ronald Torreyes and Tyler Wade to fill in while Torres gets some more cuts in the minors.

But New York may have to result to plan B – more like plan F or G – if someone goes down with an injury. Thairo Estrada, Hoy Jun Park and Nick Solak haven’t seen enough action to be an option in that case.

Thus, if for some reason the Yankees’ clubhouse looks more like an ER unit, Espinosa could find himself in pinstripes. However, Torres would likely get a shot before that unless the 30-year-old is on a torrid stretch. And the team could still swap for someone at the position, too.

General manager Brian Cashman made it clear that he’s not looking for strong infield options from free agency. And he shouldn’t, considering he has a talent-filled farm system churning out capable players on a yearly basis.

But Torres is New York’s only prospect at second base or shortstop ready to get at-bats in the bigs. Thus, Cashman is just finding serviceable guys for Triple-A as he awaits his prospects to fully bloom.

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It primarily means that the Yankees are confident in what he has in the infield. But at least Espinosa gets his chance to make a statement in Spring Training.

Whether he will make anything of his invite is a different story.