Reds lineup finally makes sense after Terry Francona’s subtle (but necessary) change

Whether Terry Francona was listening to the noise on social media or just decided to make a lineup change based on statistical analysis is unknown, but the Cincinnati Reds skipper finally made the right call and got Santiago Espinal out of the No. 2 hole in the batting order. This could've simply been a way to give Espinal a day off, but Reds fans are hopeful that this change in permanent.

On Monday against the Kansas City Royals' starter Michael Lorenzen, Francona's lineup card had TJ Friedl at the top. The Reds' leadoff hitter was followed by Spencer Steer and Elly De La Cruz (who was not at shortstop, but still in his usual spot batting third). Austin Hays was the Reds' cleanup hitter and Gavin Lux batted fifth and was playing third base. When the pitching matchup became more favorable in the sixth inning, Francona replaced Lux with Espinal.

Tito has maintained for weeks now that Espinal is one of the Reds' best hitters. While the former All-Star is a high-contact hitter who can be great in certain situations (hit-and-run, bunt base hit, etc.), consistently plugging Espinal into the lineup as the team's No. 2 hitter is the equivalent of baseball malpractice. Francona's lineup card on Tuesday will be rather telling; will Espinal be hitting second or moved further down in the batting order?

Terry Francona finally removed Santiago Espinal from the Reds lineup on Monday vs. Royals

Espinal is a glove-first infielder who undoubtedly belongs in the Reds starting lineup, especially with Noelvi Marte on the injured list. But He has no business hitting second in the Reds batting order when other players are much more suited for that role.

On the season, Espinal is hitting .273/.333/.325 with eight extra-base hits and an 84 wRC+. While Espinal does a great job of avoiding strikeouts (10.1% K rate), he has no power to speak of. Espinal's isolated power (ISO) is the worst on the team at a measly .052. Since grabbing the No. 2 spot in the batting order, Espinal is hitting .191/.255/.213. There's just no realistic way to justify having a player of Espinal's ability hitting in front of De La Cruz.

Steer was slowed by injury earlier this season, but has been hitting better of late. He went 1-for-5 on Monday night after his 12-game hit streak came to a close against the Chicago Cubs on Sunday. Steer may be hitting just .222 on the season, but over the last 15 games he's posted a .302/.351/.452 slash line.

Until Matt McLain gets going, Francona should continue to run out the trio of Friedl, Steer and De La Cruz at the top of his lineup card. Espinal is much better suited to be in the bottom-third of the Reds batting order and the Cincinnati faithful are hopeful that Francona finally sees that going forward.

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