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  • Escobar Needs To Be Everyday Shortstop

    Nick Nelson

    By Nick Nelson

    With the trade deadline less than 10 days away, our coverage of potential targets at positions of need has been ramping up here at Twins Daily. Recently we looked at relievers and catchers. Yesterday, Seth eyed the shortstop market and Jeremy wrote about a long-shot deal for Troy Tulowitzki.

    Personally, I see shortstop as a much less urgent need than the other two positions mentioned. For one thing, there are legit prospects in the system, namely Jorge Polanco and Nick Gordon, and that isn't true at catcher. Secondly, they have a decent option at shortstop on the roster right now. He just hasn't been playing much, inexplicably.

    Image courtesy of Robert Stanton, USA Today

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    When the Twins optioned Danny Santana to Triple-A in early June, they were making a commitment to Eduardo Escobar at shortstop. Escobar was a very productive starter at the position for Minnesota in 2014, and Paul Molitor had shown a clear affinity for the 26-year-old infielder over the first two months of 2015, regularly inserting him into the lineup as left fielder or even DH with no openings available in the infield.

    Swapping out Santana for Escobar looked like a win-win, providing a moderate upgrade at short while also allowing Molitor to use more offensive-oriented options in the spots where he'd previously been plugging Escobar.

    And the switch worked well. Escobar, who had struggled with the stick in April and May, started to find a groove, batting .303/.343/.485 in his first seven games after Santana's demotion. Slashing liners all over the field, Escobar flashed the kind of ability that he had in 2014, beginning to validate the immense faith Molitor had shown in his bat early on. The hot streak helped raise Escobar's OPS to where it currently sits at .684; while that might not seem at all impressive on the surface, it is above the average mark for a major-league shortstop, and more than 100 points higher than the player he replaced.

    Yet, when Byron Buxton went down with an injury in late June, Santana was recalled and immediately handed the reins at short despite Escobar's success as a fill-in.

    Since stepping back in, Santana has continued to hit poorly – .236/.263/.364 with 14 strikeouts and one unintentional walk in 18 games – and even more perturbingly, he has been sloppy defensively. The 24-year-old has committed 15 errors this year, more than all but three MLB shortstops (and those three have all played about 30 more games). Even when he hasn't been charged with errors, there have been countless miscues and hiccups. While Santana clearly has all the physical tools to be a good shortstop, he is far too prone to mistakes, backing up the reputation that came along with him from the minors.

    Nevertheless, he has continued to play over the more sure-handed Escobar, who has started only five of Minnesota's 16 games in July.

    Escobar was back in the lineup on Tuesday night, making just his second start at shortstop since the fourth of July. The smart money is on him sticking there, especially after what we saw from Santana in Oakland over the weekend.

    Nick is a co-founder of Twins Daily who's been writing about the team for more than 15 years.
    Follow Nick Nelson on Twitter: NickNelsonMN

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    rghrbek

    rghrbek 924

  • Verified Member

    • Posted

    To me the issue is pretty clear.  Escobar is an upgrade over Santana.  Tough to dispute that.  If some of you want to make a trade, that is fine as Escobar is probably not a legit everyday SS.  However, he is plenty ok enough to carry us through the trade deadline and a number of games beyond.

     

    Jed Lowrie is on a reahab stint for the stros...now that he has lost his job at SS, where do they play him???  Do they trade him?

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    Oxtung

    Oxtung 516

  • Verified Member

    • Posted

    Is anybody questioning that currently Escobsr is a better all around SS than Santana? I think the case being made is that Escobar isn't good enough to be an everyday SS and that while admittedly Santana hasn't been good so far this year he has the tools to be one going forward. His range and arm are clearly superior and his speed makes him more dangerous offensively.

     

    Perhaps what this really comes down to is where one sits on the "win now/win future" spectrum?

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    Oxtung

    Oxtung 516

  • Verified Member

    • Posted

    Except I don't think Santana is good next year, or the year after or ever.....he's meh at best.

    How do you know if you don't give him a chance to learn? He has played all of 90 games at SS in the majors. Do you doubt he has the tools? If so which?

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    Nick Nelson

    Nick Nelson 11,044

  • Owner

    • Posted

     

    He has poor range, a mediocre arm, and a lack of athleticism. I don't see him as "very solid."

    In my opinion, of course. I've been wrong before. On the other hand, it's clear the Twins have been reluctant to give him an extended run at SS.

    Escobar played 98 games at SS last year. Committed 5 errors. Rated well by UZR. Looked pretty good to my eyes. (shrug)

     

    Chief's point was about what the Twins thought of him.  It's hard to make the case the Twins want him at SS when they repeatedly chose to play Nunez there instead.

    The Twins also did not view JJ Hardy as a strong defensive SS. I don't view their opinion on these matters as gospel. 

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    Mike Sixel

    Mike Sixel 41,021

  • Old-Timey Member

    • Posted

    How do you know if you don't give him a chance to learn? He has played all of 90 games at SS in the majors. Do you doubt he has the tools? If so which?

    Was never all that impressed with him in the minors.....

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    USAFChief

    USAFChief 58,010

  • Community Moderator

    • Posted

    Escobar played 98 games at SS last year. Committed 5 errors. Rated well by UZR. Looked pretty good to my eyes. (shrug)

     

     

    The Twins also did not view JJ Hardy as a strong defensive SS. I don't view their opinion on these matters as gospel.

     

    Both valid points.

     

    Like I said, I've been wrong before.

     

    And I certainly agree Santana's play to date has been...suboptimal, to put it kindly.

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    Mike Sixel

    Mike Sixel 41,021

  • Old-Timey Member

    • Posted

    given that take, no way they go for Tulo. He's not a "move the runner over, steal bases, look good not making any plays" SS that they seem to like so much here.....didn't think of that until these last few posts about Hardy....

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    TheLeviathan

    TheLeviathan 17,473

  • Old-Timey Member

    • Posted

     

    The Twins also did not view JJ Hardy as a strong defensive SS. I don't view their opinion on these matters as gospel. 

     

    It's not that it's gospel, just pointing out that it's unlikely they will turn the job over to him full-time given their choices this season.  They just seem, for whatever reason, dead set against it.

     

    I personally think it's a bit bizarre.

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    DocBauer

    DocBauer 14,431

  • Verified Member

    • Posted

    Escobar needs to be the guy for now. He may not be great, but he's solid and consistent in the field and at the plate. I get Santana has more upside. I get he got first shot this season based on the greater overall athletic ability and potential and what he did last season. Maybe we'll see that player again. I really hope so because the tools are there. By all accounts the attitude is there. We've seen how exciting he can be. But right now, Santana just looks lost.

     

    I don't have an exact answer what to do with everyone as Polanco needs to play every day at Rochester, and then get some work up at the ML level. He's had a couple, all too brief, teasing cups of coffee at the ML level. He needs some real September time with the club to help prepare him for ST next year.

     

    There are people on this board who know an awful lot more about Polanco and his defense than I do. People who have actually watched him play. But no cannon arm and a few errors, or bunches/batches of errors at times doesn't concern me at this time. He's young. Hes a milb prospect. He's playing at different milb levels with other milb players on milb fields. Even the best ML infielders, if you reflect on their early ML career and their milb start, you will see a lot of errors. It takes time to learn. If being a great SS was just range and strong arm, Santana would already look like a star.

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