José

Tena

Tena launched a 401-foot bomb off of a Justin Hagenman cutter in the second inning, and also came around to score on each of his two walks. The 24-year-old has just 10 at-bats in seven Grapefruit League games and the home run is his only hit, though he now has five walks. Brady House appears likely to get the reps at third base early on for the Nats, but Tena could find his way into being a fallback plan yet again if House flops.

Tena was shipped back to the minors following Sunday’s loss to the Phillies. The 24-year-old infielder went 1-for-4 with a stolen base in that contest before being lifted for a pinch-hitter in the ninth inning.

Tena hit a hard grounder against a drawn-in infield with the bases loaded and got it past a diving Trea Turner. The lefty-swinging Tena was making a rare start against a lefty, as the Nationals have a pretty unbalanced lineup at the moment and simply can’t platoon everyone who needs to be platooned. Tena did wind up hitless against Jesús Luzardo, but he had the big hit versus a righty in Orion Kerkering. Tena, hitting .243/.315/.351 in 165 plate appearances, will remain a bench player for the most part, as the Nationals think Brady House is more interesting as a potential long-term option at third base.

Tena returns to Washington’s bench mix for Sunday’s game against the Twins after veteran Amed Rosario was shipped to the Yankees earlier this weekend. The 24-year-old infielder hit .248 with zero homers and two steals in 44 games with the Nationals earlier this season before they opted to promote top prospect Brady House to take over at the hot corner.

Tena has struggled to make any meaningful contributions to the Nationals’ offense during his time in the big leagues this season, slashing a meager .248/.325/.365 with zero homers, 13 RBI and a pair of stolen bases. Brady House will be promoted from Triple-A Rochester on Monday to take his place on the club’s active roster.

Rosario has shifted back into a part-time role with Jose Tena playing well at third base. Tena will take a seat against a left-handed pitcher on Wednesday, as will Josh Bell with Alex Call entering the starting lineup and James Wood sliding to DH for the day.

That had to feel really good for Tena against his former team. The third baseman’s hit broke an 8-8 tie immediately after a Dylan Crews double took away the Guardians’ lead. The hit was Tena’s first in 16 at-bats since Apr. 28. He’s back in the lineup for the nightcap, which is something we’re not sure would have happened if not for the heroics.

Pretty good for someone who couldn’t buy his way into the lineup until Paul DeJong joined CJ Abrams on the IL. Hopefully, Tena, who was 3-for-17 on the season coming into the night, can get on a nice little run here and stick as the Nationals’ third baseman against righties after DeJong returns.

No word on anything being wrong with Abrams, so it’s probably just his first day off of the season. The Nationals have Paul DeJong at short and José Tena at third. James Wood has taken on leadoff duties.

DeJong has struck out 11 times and picked up just four hits over the first week of the season. He’ll take a break with Jose Tena handling third base against Brandon Pfaadt and the Diamondbacks.