MLB Player News

Padres infielder Logan Forsythe is eligible to come off the 60-day disabled list on May 22, but will not begin baseball activities this week, manager Bud Black said Wednesday.

Forsythe has yet to play this season due to plantar fasciitis in his right foot.

Nationals second baseman Danny Espinosa went 0 for 4 with three strikeouts Tuesday against the Dodgers, putting him in an 0-for-13 slump in his last three games and dropping his season average to .175.

"Danny's best side is right-handed. [Left-hander Clayton] Kershaw made some good pitches on him and he had some pitches to hit and I think he is trying to do too much," manager Davey Johnson said after Tuesday's game, per MLB.com. 

Teammate Tyler Moore is also mired in a hitting slump and hitting coach Rick Eckstein said they are struggling because both players are missing on fastballs.

"They have to get back on the fastball," Eckstein said. "You can't be in between. …. When you are facing guys as tough as Kershaw, you are not going to get too many pitches that are over the heart of the plate. The breaking stuff, when it's down in the zone, it has late sharp bite on it. It's pretty good. You have to get on the fastball. Anytime you are sitting in between, you are late on the heater and early in the off speed. You have to get back on the heater."

Nationals second baseman Danny Espinosa picked up a hit for the fifth time in six May games Friday, as he continues to try to turn his season around. Espinosa now has five RBI and a .273 batting average in May after he hit just .173 in April.

Epinosa will never been known for his batting average, as he has yet to hit better than .250 in a season. But he is also certainly better than he looked in April, making him a solid buy-low candidate for Fantasy owners.

If you are looking for a potentially cheap source of power from the middle infield position, Fantasy owners can do worse than trying to poach Espinosa from a disgruntled owner. 

Nationals second baseman Danny Espinosa bumped his May line to .357/.375/.643 with a 2-for-3 performance Wednesday against the Tigers. After finishing April with a .173/.212/.333 line, he owns a .200 batting average for the first time since April 10.

Padres infielder Logan Forsythe had the protective boot removed from his foot and is expected to begin jogging Wednesday, MLB.com reports.

Forsythe has been sidelined since spring training due to plantar fasciitis in his right foot.

"By next week, you could see him in more baseball-related activities," manager Bud Black said Tuesday.

Nationals second baseman Danny Espinosa was not in Wednesday's lineup, and is using his benching as a motivation to improve, according to the Washington Times.

Manager Davey Johnson clarified comments he made Wednesday, and indicated that Espinosa could return to the starting lineup Thursday. Espinosa was initially expected to be benched for the Braves series. 

While he wasn't happy about the reduced playing time, Espinosa expressed he would work hard to make sure this doesn't happen again. The second baseman said, "I’ll take these two days and just use them for motivation. Use it in a positive way, the best I can, and when I get my next opportunity to play, I’m going to come back stronger than I’ve ever been." Stephen Lombardozzi started in Espinosa's place Wednesday.

Nationals second baseman Danny Espinosa might be struggling, but he's not concerned about his injured shoulder.

Espinosa spent most of the offseason strengthening muscles around his torn rotator cuff in his left shoulder. Espinosa is hitting just .173 to start the year, but said his shoulder is "great," and hasn't given him any problems this season. Espinosa also said he's been happy with his approach this year, but his batted balls are turning into outs. His .197 BABIP supports that theory. 

Nationals second baseman Danny Espinosa will not start at second during the team's next two games.

Nationals manager Davey Johnson told a Washington radio station that Stephen Lombardozzi will start the next two games against the Braves. In 85 at-bats this season, Espinosa is hitting just .173/.212/.333. 

Nationals second baseman Danny Espinosa finished 0 for 4 with a walk during his first appearance as the No. 2 hitter in a 6-3 win over Cincinnati on Saturday. Espinosa, typically the sixth or seventh hitter in the batting order this season, was moved higher in the lineup with the hope he would receive better pitches in front of Bryce Harper.

"I want him to think about line drives, getting on base and that kind of thing," manager Davey Johnson told MLB.com.

Entering play Saturday, Espinosa was 12 for 65 (.185) with two homers and just six RBI through 20 games.

Nationals shortstop Danny Espinosa has struggled to get going, but he showed encouraging signs Thursday against the Reds in his best performance of the season.

Espinosa powered the Nationals to an 8-1 win, going 2 for 4 with a home run and a double. He drove in three runs in the game, doubling his total for the season. Espinosa also scored twice.

Espinosa is batting .177 with eight extra-base hits, seven runs and six RBI in 62 at-bats. Thursday was his first game with multiple extra-base hits.