Yankees state of the system: Third Base

Danny Espinosa

Upon Miguel Andujar’s graduation to the big club, the RailRiders will be without a full-time third base prospect. Instead, they have some different candidates who should split time at the position.

For one, there’s the recently-signed Danny Espinosa. The Yankees signed the 30-year-old veteran to a minor league deal earlier this week and invited him to Spring Training. Apparently, Espinosa is competing for the second base job. But if he loses out, he might find himself playing all over the infield at Scranton.

Espinosa broke in with the Washington Nationals back in 2010. He spent seven seasons in DC, appearing in 100 games or more five times. After signing with the Angels last offseason, he bounced between three different clubs.

Once Anaheim cut him loose, he appeared in eight games with Seattle and eight more with Tampa Bay.

Espinosa is a career .221 hitter with pop. Twice, Espinosa topped the 20-homer barrier, including a career-high 24 dingers in 2016. He used to run (37 stolen bases between 2011 and 2012) but doesn’t anymore.

Espinosa strikes out a lot. He led the National League with 189 whiffs in 2012. Six times during his career, he’s K’d over 100 times.

He hasn’t played third base a whole lot (just 10 career starts), but he stands to get some time there in 2018. Historically, Espinosa’s been a terrific defender.

Depending on what happens with Gleyber Torres, Espinosa might be playing behind some extremely talented youngsters in the middle infield.

Espinosa’s chances of breaking camp with the Yankees are probably small.