Angels eye Espinosa for 2B
Nats deal infielder, expect Turner back at shortstop in 2017.
The Los Angeles Angels acquired Danny Espinosa from the Washington Nationals, picking up a starting second baseman in a trade for two minor league pitchers.
The Angel s s e nt r i g ht - handers Austin Adams and Kyle McGowin on Saturday night to the Nationals for Espinosa, who presumably lost his starting job in Washi n g t o n w h e n t h e t e a m obtained outfielder Adam E a t o n f ro m t h e Chi c a go White Sox on Wednesday.
Washington traded three top pitching prospects to Chi c a go f o r E a t o n , wi t h the intention of shifting NL Rookie of the Year runner-up Trea Turner from center field back to shortstop, his natural position.
The 29-year-old Espinosa hit .209 with a career-high 24 home runs and 72 RBIs as Washington’s regular shortstop last season, helping the team win the NL East. He didn’t play second base in 2016, but has played there extensively in the past.
In seven major league seasons, all with the Nationals, the switch hitter has batted .226 with 285 RBIs.
The trade is a homecoming for Espinosa, born and raised a few miles from Angel Stadium in Santa Ana. He grew up attending games in Anaheim with his father.
Nationals: Stephen Strasburg said relying too much on his new slider put stress on his pitching arm and contributed to the injury probl e ms t h a t s i d e l i n e d h i m during the second half of last season and the playoffs.
“I fell in love with it,” the r i g ht - ha nder s a i d a t t he team’s annual fan festival, “because it was working, especially the first half. I mean, it was a quick out.”
Strasburg said because the slider was not a pitch he was used to throwing, he had trouble delivering it exactly the same way each time. That altered his motion and may have led to a tendon issue in his right elbow.
He went on the DL with soreness in August, then made one more start before being out again. Strasburg’s final 2016 numbers were 15-4 with a 3.60 ERA and 183 strikeouts in 147⅔ innings.
Brayden Schenn scored 2:44 into overtime and Anthony Stolarz got his first shutout in his second career start, giving Philadelphia its ninth consecutive win. Stolarz made 28 saves.
Antoine Vermette and Corey Perry each had a goal and an assist and Anaheim scored a season-high three power-play goals to deal Ottawa its second straight loss in Southern California. John Gibson made 21 saves for the Ducks.
Alex Ovechkin scored a power-play goal in the first period and Braden Holtby made it stand up, stopping 20 shots to help Washington earn its fourth straight victory.
Matt Dumba, Nino Niederreiter and Mikael Granlund scored, Devan Dubnyk made 22 saves and Minnesota earned its fourth straight win.
Marian Hossa, Artem Anisimov and Artemi Panarin scored in Chicago’s win. Scott Darling made 23 saves in his fifth straight start while No. 1 goalie Corey Crawford recovers from an appendectomy.
Nathan MacKinnon and Blake Comeau scored in the third period, and Semyon Varlamov made 51 saves. J.T. Miller and Brady Skjei scored 3:50 apart late in the second period, and Antti Raanta stopped 19 shots for his second straight shutout. Late