Reds lineup finally gets the shakeup it needed, but will Terry Francona commit?

The Cincinnati Reds are facing a must-win series against the Milwaukee Brewers, and Terry Francona's lineup for Monday's game proves it. Francona has finally ditched the month-long experiment with Santiago Espinal batting second ahead of Elly De La Cruz and replaced the Reds' infielder with Gavin Lux in the No. 2 hole. But how long will this change last?

Not only is Espinal not batting second; he's not in the Reds lineup at all. Espinal had been Francona's most reliable fielder, but will be replaced by Garrett Hampson at the hot corner on Monday night. The Reds' midseason pickup will bat ninth against Brewers' right-handed starting pitcher Aaron Civale.

This is a change that Reds fans have been begging for. Fans received a reprieve last month when Tito gave Espinal the night off. One day later, however, the slick-fielding veteran was back in the starting lineup and batting second once again. Reds fans are undoubtedly hopeful that Francona doesn't go back to his stubborn ways and finally decides to make this lineup change permanent.

Reds fans finally get their wish, but Terry Francona’s lineup change might not last

Perhaps more peculiar than Espinal's absence from the Reds' lineup is the fact that Matt McLain is nowhere to be found either. The former first-round pick has struggled mightily, and after being bumped down to No. 9 in the batting order, is now out of the Reds' lineup completely.

As bad as Espinal has been since being elevated to the No. 2 spot in the Reds batting order, McLain's been just as bad, if not worse. The Reds' second baseman has had far too many uncompetitive at-bats and is striking out at an unsustainable clip. It would seem that perhaps Francona has reached his boiling point, and decided to finally sit two of his worst hitters.

The first step toward fixing a problem is admitting you have one. It would seem that Francona has at least done that much. Now it'll be up to the Reds skipper to stick to his guns and keep those two under-performers buried deeper in the lineup. Some have even advocated for the Reds to send McLain back to the minor leagues; which is a bold idea, but perhaps one worth pondering.

The Reds should be welcoming back Christian Encarnacion-Strand at some point this week. The slugger is on a rehab assignment at Triple-A Louisville and has been hitting the cover off the ball. Cincinnati needs that type of pop back in the lineup, and fast.

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