Tena isn't in the lineup for Thursday's game against the Orioles, Spencer Nusbaum of The Washington Post reports.
The lefty-hitting Tena will grab a seat on the bench against southpaw Cade Povich and the Orioles. Amed Rosario will pick up a start at the hot corner and bat sixth while Tena sits.
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Nationals' Jose Tena: Three XBH in Tuesday's win
Rotowire
Tena went 3-for-4 with two doubles, a triple and a run scored in Tuesday's 7-0 win over the Orioles.
The Nats scalded the ball all night, with 10 of their 14 hits going for extra bases in a 7-0 rout, and Tena led the way with three of them. The 24-year-old has started three of the last four games, and with Washington looking to get some production from the hot corner, manager Dave Martinez suggested after Tuesday's contest that Tena could move into a strong-side platoon role at third base while Paul DeJong (nose) remains on the shelf, per Mark Zuckerman of MASNSports.com.
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Nationals' Jose Tena: Wins bench job
Rotowire
Tena earned a spot on the Nationals' Opening Day roster, Andrew Golden of The Washington Post reports.
The 24-year-old was competing for a bench job during spring training and secured a roster spot despite posting a .156/.240/.200 slash line in 50 plate appearances. Tena had a .668 OPS in 41 games with Washington in 2024 and is unlikely to be fantasy-relevant this year.
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Nationals' Jose Tena: Competing for bench role
Rotowire
Tena is competing with Trey Lipscomb for an infield utility job and has a .156/.206/.219 slash line through 11 Grapefruit League games.
The pair appeared poised to battle for the starting job at third base to begin camp, but the Nationals then signed Paul DeJong in mid-February. Tena had a .652 in 44 games between the Guardians and Nationals last season, and he's struggled to get on track during spring action.
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Nationals' Jose Tena: Competing for third base job
Rotowire
Tena will battle with Trey Lipscomb in spring training for the Nationals' starting job at third base, Bobby Blanco of MASN Sports reports.
Tena showed some upside at the plate after being acquired from the Guardians in the Lane Thomas trade last year, slashing .274/.305/.363 over 41 games for the Nats with three homers and six steals in seven attempts. The 23-year-old mostly played shortstop in the minors however, and defensively he has a lot of work to do at the hot corner, committing nine errors on only 87 chances. Lipscomb has the stronger glove, but he stumbled to a .500 OPS in 61 big-league games in 2024. If Tena shows enough improvement in the field during camp, he'll be the favorite to get the nod at third base in the Opening Day lineup. Prospect Brady House could also get a look this spring, but he likely needs more development time at Triple-A before he'll be ready to take over the job.
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Nationals' Jose Tena: Out of Washington lineup
Rotowire
Tena is absent from the lineup for Friday's game against the Phillies, Mark Zuckerman of MASNSports.com reports.
It's a day off for the left-handed-hitting Tena with the Phillies starting southpaw Ranger Suarez. Ildemaro Vargas will start at third base and bat seventh.
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Nationals' Jose Tena: Swipes bag, tallies RBI in loss
Rotowire
Tena went 2-for-4 with an RBI and a stolen base in Thursday's loss to the Cubs.
Tena drove home James Wood with a two-out single in the top of the third before going on to steal his sixth base of the campaign. The shortstop would then add a leadoff single in the sixth to give him his sixth multi-hit performance this month. Tena has hit safely in 11 of his last 14 games, batting .309 (17-for-55) over that stretch with one homer, five RBI, five runs and five stolen bases.
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Nationals' Jose Tena: Fills stat sheet in win
Rotowire
Tena went 2-for-4 with a solo home run, a stolen base and an additional run scored in Saturday's 4-1 win over the Marlins.
Tena tallied a homer and a steal in the same contest for the first time in his career. He has hit safely in eight of his past 10 games with five multi-hit efforts, four extra-base hits and six runs scored. In 113 plate appearances with the Nationals, the 23-year-old is hitting .318 with three home runs, 13 RBI, 13 runs scored and five stolen bases.
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Nationals' Jose Tena: Missing another start
Rotowire
Tena (thumb) is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Orioles, Mark Zuckerman of MASNSports.com reports.
Tena will sit out again while he recovers from a fingernail issue on his right thumb, which stems from being struck by a groundball in Sunday's loss to the Angels. Ildemaro Vargas will fill in at third base for Tena, who can be viewed as day-to-day heading into the Nationals' four-game series with the Phillies that begins Thursday.
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Nationals' Jose Tena: X-rays return negative
Rotowire
Tena (thumb) had X-rays come back negative after leaving Sunday's game against the Angels and is dealing with a fingernail issue, Spencer Nusbaum of The Washington Post reports.
The 23-year-old made his second straight start at third base Sunday but exited during the fourth inning when he was struck in the right hand by a hard grounder. Tena has avoided a serious injury and should be considered day-to-day.
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Nationals' Jose Tena: Exits early with thumb injury
Rotowire
Tena was removed in the fourth inning of Sunday's game against the Angels due to an apparent right thumb injury, Mark Zuckerman of MASNSports.com reports. He went hitless in his lone at-bat before departing.
Making a second straight start at third base after he went 2-for-4 with two RBI in his Nationals debut Saturday, Tena's day was cut short when he took a hard grounder off his throwing hand. The play went down as an error, and Tena was immediately lifted from the game in favor of Ildemaro Vargas while his thumb was bleeding profusely. The Nationals should have an update on Tena's condition later Sunday.
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Nationals' Jose Tena: Recalled by Washington
Rotowire
The Nationals recalled Tena from Triple-A Rochester on Saturday, Spencer Nusbaum of The Washington Post reports.
Tena was part of the package the Nationals received when they traded Lane Thomas to the Guardians on July 29. In Triple-A this season, Tena is slashing .287/.344/.480 with 15 stolen bases, 60 runs scored, 18 home runs and 68 RBI across 448 plate appearances. To make room for Tena on the 26-man roster, the Nationals optioned Trey Lipscomb to Rochester.
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Nationals' Jose Tena: Headed to Washington
Rotowire
Washington acquired Tena, infielder Rafael Ramirez and left-hander Alex Clemmey from Cleveland on Monday in exchange for outfielder Lane Thomas, Bob Nightengale of USA Today reports.
Tena will head to Washington after producing a .295 average with 17 home runs, 63 RBI, 54 runs scored and 14 stolen bases over 90 games with Triple-A Columbus this season. The 23-year-old will likely report to Triple-A Rochester with his new organization, but he'll have a good shot at seeing time in the majors later on this season.
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Guardians' Jose Tena: Optioned to Columbus
Rotowire
The Guardians optioned Tena to Triple-A Columbus on Thursday.
Tena didn't hit well in 18 major-league games last season, and his struggles have followed him into spring training with a .219/.289/.281 slash line. Tena has played in just 20 Triple-A games in his career, so perhaps spending more time in the minors to develop will help establish himself at the plate.
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Guardians' Jose Tena: Not hitting well in spring
Rotowire
Tena has gone 4-for-18 with two RBI, one run scored, four walks and two strikeouts over 12 Cactus League games.
Tena is at least getting a long look as a reserve infielder, but he hasn't posted the results to justify winning a roster spot. He's also showing a solid eye at the plate, which is encouraging after he struck out 13 times in 34 plate appearances following his call-up last season. Tena's easiest path to the major-league roster would be at shortstop, but Gabriel Arias (illness), Brayan Rocchio and Tyler Freeman are also contenders to see at-bats there. It may be better for Tena's development for him to start the year at Triple-A Columbus.
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Guardians' Jose Tena: Sent down to Triple-A
Rotowire
Tena was optioned to Triple-A Columbus on Tuesday.
Tena went 2-for-8 at the plate during his brief first stint in the majors. He's being sent out to make room for Tyler Freeman's (shoulder) return from the 10-day injured list.
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Guardians' Jose Tena: Recalled from Columbus
Rotowire
Cleveland recalled Tena from Triple-A Columbus on Friday, Mandy Bell of MLB.com reports.
Tena was just promoted to the Triple-A level earlier this week after slashing .260/.353/.370 with four homers and 16 steals through 81 games with Double-A Akron. The 22-year-old infielder will give the Guardians some depth as Josh Naylor (side) and Tyler Freeman (shoulder) both head to the 10-day IL.
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Guardians' Jose Tena: Promoted to Triple-A
Rotowire
Tena was promoted to Triple-A Columbus on Thursday.
The 21-year-old middle infielder has spent all season with Double-A Akron, recording a .710 OPS along with 66 RBI. Tena's high strikeout rate -- roughly 25 percent -- continues to be a concern, but if he can find a way to cut his whiffs he may be of use for the big-league club at some point in 2023.
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Guardians' Jose Tena: Back in action for Akron
Rotowire
Tena (undisclosed) has gone 1-for-4 with a double in his two games since returning to action Sunday for Double-A Akron.
Tena missed only a few days after he was scratched from Akron's lineup last Thursday due to an unspecified issue.
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Guardians' Jose Tena: Scratched from Double-A lineup
Rotowire
Tena was scratched from Thursday's lineup at Double-A Akron for an unspecified reason, Matt Kardos of MLB.com reports.
Tena went 0-for-6 with two strikeouts over the last two games, and it's not yet clear why he was a late removal from Thursday's lineup. He's slashing .275/.301/.382 with two homers, 30 runs, 18 RBI and six stolen bases over 51 games in Akron this year.
