SEATTLE — Multiple reports Sunday indicated the Mariners will sign former Washington Nationals and Los Angeles Angels infielder Danny Espinosa to a big-league contract.
Espinosa, 30, was released by the Angels on Thursday. In 77 games with the Angels this season, Espinosa was batting .162 with six home runs and 29 RBI. In seven seasons with the Nationals, he batted .226 with 92 homers and an on-base-plus-slugging percentage of .690.
Espinosa has primarily played second base, but also has experience at shortstop.
Tim Brown of Yahoo was the first to report Sunday afternoon that Espinosa and the Mariners agreed to a big-league contract.
Adding Espinosa to the 25-man roster would require a corresponding move to make room for him. Currently, the Mariners’ lone backup infielder is Taylor Motter, who is batting .204 this season and has just nine plate appearances this month. Motter appeared in Sunday’s 6-4 loss to the Yankees as a pinch-runner in the ninth inning, but was picked off first base.
Comeback specialists
The Mariners have won six games since returning from the All-Star break. They have trailed at some point in each of those victories.
And while manager Scott Servais would prefer the club score more runs early in games, he said it’s a good sign that Seattle’s hitters have responded positively to early deficits.
“And not just one or two runs,” Servais said. “We’re down five the one game in Chicago and hung in there and got some big at-bats, some big hits. It’s a good thing if you do get down early, that you feel like you have enough offense and ways to generate … opportunities to get back in the game.
“So I would prefer to be ahead, but it doesn’t happen all the time. You’ve got to play all nine innings. That’s the major focus here. You hear it oftentimes, we get down early, ‘We’ve got a long way to go in this one. Let’s just keep fighting and keep chipping away.’”
Stat pack
Reliever Emilio Pagan pitched three scoreless innings and struck out four Sunday. He has allowed only one run in his past 181⁄3 innings, a stretch that spans six appearances. … Outfielder Ben Gamel’s single extended his hitting streak to 10 games. … The Yankees have won 13 of their past 15 games in Seattle.
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