José Tena’s new teammates know who he is now…
TENA HAS BIG NIGHT IN NATS DEBUT:
José Tena didn’t know many people in the Nationals’ clubhouse when the 23-year-old, who was one of three prospects acquired from Cleveland in the deadline deal which sent Lane Thomas to the Guardians, got called up on Saturday afternoon, but as Washington’s skipper Davey Martinez put it after Tena hit game-tying and winning singles in his Nationals debut, “I think his teammates know who he is now.”
GM and President of Baseball Operations Mike Rizzo talked on the night of the 2024 Trade Deadline about what the Nationals got in Tena.
“He’s a tooled-up player that can play the middle of the diamond, and is versatile enough to play some other positions,” Rizzo explained. “And left-handed bat with some surprising pop and a guy that runs well, runs the bases well, and really plays both sides of the ball.
Photo by Scott Taetsch/Getty Images
“We’re really excited about him, how he’s going to impact the club when he gets to the big leagues, and we think that he has a very low floor, but he has a lot of ceiling left. At 23, he’s getting better, we see his arrow going north as even this season progressed, and he’s got a really quick bat and some pop and we really like the way he plays the infield.”
In 21 games in the majors with the Guardians between 2023-24, Tena had a .200/.263/.257 line with two doubles, three walks, and 15 Ks in 38 plate appearances, but he hit at Triple-A in Cleveland’s system this season (.298/.353/.493, 17 doubles, 17 home runs in 90 G, and 405 PAs), and after a brief 10-game stint at Triple-A Rochester in the Nats’ organization, he got the call and was penciled into the Nationals’ lineup for last night’s game.
“José was swinging the bat really well down in Triple-A,” Martinez said before last night’s win, “… so we’re going to give an opportunity to come up here and play. He’ll play some third base today, but he’s played some short and some second.
“But for today, he’ll play third base. Pretty good athlete. I watched some videos on him. He moves fairly well. He can hit, so we’re gonna give him an opportunity and see what he can do here.”
Photo by Scott Taetsch/Getty Images
Asked what he liked about Tena’s swing, Martinez said, “He stays behind the ball, uses his legs really well, he’s got some pop, so definitely could use that in the lineup.”
Batting sixth in the Nationals’ lineup and playing third in the second of three with the LA Angels in D.C., Tena grounded out the first time up against righty Griffin Canning, then hit a fly to left field in his second trip to the plate, 0 for 2.
With the score 4-3 in the Angels’ favor in the seventh, however, after James Wood drove in a run with a double, Tena stepped in against Canning again and hit a full-count fastball out to left field, 4-4, then he got another opportunity in the 10th, after free runner CJ Abrams took third on a wild pitch, and hit a 1-0 fastball from reliever Roansy Contreras to left, and off the wall for the second walk-off winner in two nights for the home team in Nationals Park.
IN HIS FIRST GAME AS A NAT
JOSÉ. TENA. WALKS US. OFFFFFFFFFFF. pic.twitter.com/FBZmUjjkVU
— Washington Nationals (@Nationals) August 11, 2024
“I’m very proud,” Tena said after ending the game, as quoted by MASN’s Bobby Blanco. “Very proud, especially since I’ve been working very hard for moments like this.”
His new manager gave him a boost of confidence on the way to the plate:
“The manager had told me that I was going to win the game for us,” Tena said.
“And once I realized that the hit was going to be the game-winning one, I turned around and gave him a little wink.”
“After watching his videos, he stays on the ball really well. We talked about it earlier. He’s got a really nice, short swing,” Martinez said after the game.
“Very handsy, but he stays in his legs really well. I told him he wasn’t going to bunt. I said I want you to drive this run in. Just try to stay in the middle of the field. And he drove it. But he’s got a nice swing.”
“He understands the hitting portion of the game, he really does,” the manager added.
“He doesn’t try to do too much, he lets the ball travel a little bit, and he puts the ball in play.
“We knew that about him. And he moved pretty good at third base too, he really did. He turned a nice double play. He’s going to be okay. I can tell he loves to play the game, which is awesome. He was super-excited after the game. He’s going to get a chance to play here.”