José

Tena

Tena, who was DFA’d by the Nationals on Monday, is making a case for some team to claim him off waivers. The appearance was his second since joining Estrellas earlier this week. He’s played for the club every year since 2022.

Just a little over two years ago, the Nationals acquired Tena from the Guardians for Lane Thomas at the trade deadline. The 25-year-old hit .242/.306/.364 with 10 home runs and 59 RBI during his tenure with the Nationals. The Nationals needed spots on their 40-man roster with the 60-day injured list players being activated on Monday, so they decided to move on from Tena.

No word yet on the reason for the swap. Nasim Nuñez takes over at shortstop with CJ Abrams moving to DH and José Tena getting the nod at second base.

It looks to be nothing more than a routine night off for the 25-year-old speedster, though he could still make an impact with his legs off of the bench. Jose Tena will start in his place at second base and bat eighth against Braves’ right-hander Bryce Elder.

Young was scratched from Saturday’s lineup against the Pirates due to soreness in his left hand and it’s still bothering him a bit heading into Sunday, so he’ll get another day of rest. Dylan Crews will patrol center field while Jose Tena serves as the team’s designated hitter and will bat seventh against Pirates’ right-hander Bubba Chandler on Sunday afternoon at Nationals Park.

It sounds like a precautionary decision since Young was in Washington’s original lineup heading into Saturday’s Independence Day matinee at Nationals Park. It’ll be Dylan Crews taking over in center field with José Tena entering the lineup at DH. There should be an update on his status following the contest.

It appears to be nothing more than a routine night off for the 24-year-old outfielder. Crews has really struggled during his time with the Nats this season, slashing .189/.230/.337 with four homers, 14 RBI and a pair of steals in 100 plate appearances. Jose Tena will function as the team’s designated hitter on Friday night and will bat third against Rays’ right-hander Griffin Jax.

Tena peaked with an .832 OPS on May 6, but he’s since gone 4-for-40 with 17 strikeouts, taking him down to .671. The start today was just his second in eight games. Four of those games were versus lefties, so he definitely wasn’t going to start those. However, with Dylan Crews up and James Wood and Daylen Lile seeing time at DH, Tena is losing time against righties, too.

This is pretty stunning, given that House wasn’t just playing regularly but was also hitting third pretty much of all of the time. He was batting .227/.282/.399 with seven homers and 25 RBI in 177 plate appearances, with just a little more plate discipline than last year. Statcast also thought he was kind of unlucky, giving him a .249 xBA and a .427 xSLG coming into Monday’s game. However, House’s defense at third base has taken a pretty big step backwards, and his 16 percent swinging strike rate is concerning. Unlike with Dylan Crews, who is expected to replace him on the roster, there doesn’t seem to be any financial incentive for the demotion. House is just turning 23 in June, and if he gets a bit more selective at the plate, he’ll probably spend several years as an adequate regular. The Nationals figure to go with José Tena, Jorbit Vivas, and maybe some Curtis Mead at third base. That helps open up time for Crews, who will play a lot of outfield with James Wood and Daylen Lile probably seeing more time at DH.

Weird to sit someone who just hit a grand slam last night, but so be it. José Tena is DHing for the Nationals — his first start since April 15 — and Jorbit Vivas is manning third base against RHP Freddy Peralta as the Nats look to continue the misery for New York.