First Reactions: José Tena Added To Nationals 40-Man Roster

Could the Nationals have a new third baseman? In the aftermath of Lane Thomas being traded to Cleveland, it looks like we may see immediate action for the Nats major league club. José Tena, who has already debuted and played 21 MLB games, is the most advanced among the prospects in the return for Thomas.

José Tena, welcome to DC! Tena arrives to an organization with far, far less infield depth than the one that he is used to with the Guardians. Seriously, the Guardians infield looks like the Mariana Trench right now. Young players Angel Martínez, Brayan Rocchio, Gabriel Arias, Juan Brito, and Daniel Schneemann are on Cleveland's 40-man roster and all deserve to have some playing time squeezed in alongside the long-term contracts of José Ramírez and Andrés Giménez. Underneath that dogpile you can find Tena, who may be expendable for one organization but is worthy of a look in his own right.

Tena, 23, has played third base, shortstop, and second base in the minors and in the majors, but he doesn't grade spectacularly in the field and is unlikely to fit in at short despite plenty of experience there at AAA this year. Tena has legitimate potential on offense whether he slots in at third base or second base, with a strong showing in AAA this year in his first extended run at the level. He has hit .298/.353/.493 in 90 games there this season with 17 home runs and 14 steals, but his elevated BABIP and 25.2% strikeout rate are slightly worrying. For a 5'9 infielder that power will definitely play. He has yet to homer in 38 big league at-bats, so it will be up to Tena to show some pop if and when he returns to the bigs.

Tena isn't among the top consensus names in the Guardians prospect system, but Fangraphs likes him enough to rank him as a 40+ future value player, pointing out his power potential with the downsides of poor defensive skills and struggles actualizing his pull-side power. While Tena's prospect pedigree is not quite as sparkling as Alex Clemmey, and Rafael Ramirez Jr. to a lesser extent, he will is by far the closest to the majors among all players the Nats have acquired this month.

Tena will certainly get an opportunity to grow into a productive player for the Nationals, and he's now on the 40-man roster meaning he'll be able to be optioned between the majors and minors for the next few seasons. We don't know just yet, but Tena certainly could fit into the third base mix alongside Trey Lipscomb for the rest of this season, or even take the job full-time. Tena's is a left-handed hitter, so a platoon with Lipscomb while also providing a potential backup to Luis Garcia or even CJ Abrams around the infield seems like Tena's likely role.

Trey Lipscomb has been struggling heavily with major league pitching recently, hitting .120 since the All-Star break and .173/.218/.212 with no home runs since being recalled on July 6. Ildemaro Vargas hasn't been playing much better, and the only other 40-man infielder is Joey Meneses. Compared to Tena's road to playing time with the Guardians, the red carpet has been rolled out and a limo has been sent to deliver the V.I.P. to Washington. It's up to him to make the most of this opportunity while third base prospects Brady House and Cayden Wallace are still getting minor league experience.

Tena is a solid add for the Nats, and he'll be the first of three potential big leaguers to arrive thanks to Lane Thomas. With Thomas gone alongside the veteran contingent of Jesse Winker, Joey Meneses, Nick Senzel, and Eddie Rosario, it's the youths' turn at the plate in Washington. Tena will join a young team led by CJ Abrams and James Wood, plus the expected call-up of Dylan Crews some time soon. The team isn't in winning mode just yet, but the pieces are starting to come together.