The 27-year-old utilityman has made one start in right field already this season, now he’ll shift over and cover the other corner. Jake Fraley finds himself on the bench with left-hander Nestor Cortes Jr. toeing the slab for the Brewers. Espinal is off to a slow start at the plate this season, hitting .200 (2-for-10) with zero runs scored or RBI.

This doesn’t happen often, at least for a non-injured player, but Espinal is taking a cut from the $2.73 million he made in 2024 in order to avoid being non-tendered. The 30-year-old Espinal, who was acquired from the Blue Jays in March, hit .246/.295/.356 in 391 plate appearances in his first year with the Reds, with most of his production coming in July and August. Ideally, he won’t be needed quite as much next season.

Espinal came alive in July, and the Reds have been treating him as a regular since mid-August, with this being his 34th start in the team’s last 37 games. Alas, he’s back hitting like his usual self now. He’ll probably stick around this winter, but he needs to be looked at more like a once-per-week guy next year.

Espinal was the hero in this one with his two-run double in the eighth inning off Phil Maton. That gave the Reds their first and only lead of the day as they salvaged the final game of this series. Cincinnati’s lineup has been ravaged by injuries and Espinal could be a sneaky source of volume in deep leagues for the next few weeks.