The Cincinnati Reds captain eventually made the right decision and moved Santiago Espinal out of the No. 2 position in the batting order. It’s unclear if Terry Francona was listening to the commotion on social media or just chose to alter the lineup based on statistical research. Reds supporters hope that this move will be permanent, but it could have just been a means to give Espinal a day off.
TJ Friedl was at the top of Francona’s lineup card for Monday’s game against Michael Lorenzen, the starting pitcher for the Kansas City Royals. Following the leadoff batter for the Reds were Spencer Steer and Elly De La Cruz, who batted third as usual but was not at shortstop.
Gavin Lux batted fifth while playing third base, and Austin Hays was the Reds’ cleanup hitter. In the sixth inning, Francona substituted Espinal for Lux as the pitching matchup improved.
For weeks, Tito has insisted that Espinal is among the Reds’ top batters. It is baseball malpractice to constantly insert Espinal into the lineup as the team’s No. 2 hitter, even if the former All-Star is a high-contact hitter who may be excellent in specific scenarios (hit-and-run, bunt base hit, etc.). It will be interesting to see Francona’s lineup card on Tuesday. Will Espinal be batting second or lower in the order?
In the Reds’ match against the Royals on Monday, Terry Francona eventually benched Santiago Espinal.
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