The popular roster battle at this moment is among the group of outfielders - specifically Robert Hassell III, Daylen Lile, a rehabbing Jacob Young, and eventually Dylan Crews when he returns from the injured list. We discussed this race yesterday, as well. However, there's another similar competition that is similarly compelling.
With apologies to Andres Chaparro, who I don't foresee overtaking the slumping Nathaniel Lowe or red-hot Josh Bell, the action to watch is at the hot corner between incumbent Jose Tena and star prospect Brady House.
Jose Tena
There's not a ton that is glamourous about Tena, but he has no interest in giving up his starting spot. While it's fair to criticize Tena's defense at third base, his bat is pretty dependable, and he's been on a roll recently.
Tena entered this season as a backup infielder, with Paul DeJong holding the starting honor at third base. DeJong got off to a relatively slow start to the season before quickly landing on the injured list. Third base has mostly belonged to Tena ever since.
Although Tena's season didn't begin spectacularly, he's found his groove lately. He's batting .300 with an .890 OPS in his last 15 games, and his OPS is just shy of 1.000 in his last seven games. He hasn't hit the ball over the fence yet this year, but Tena has 12 doubles in 120 at bats.
His season-long numbers leave a little more to be desired, but that doesn't tell the true story. Could the Nationals really demote Tena - either to the bench or down to Triple-A - while he's hitting as well as he is right now?
Brady House
The No. 3 prospect in the system, according to MLB Pipeline, continues to make a push to make his major league debut. He's batting .290, his strikeout rate has improved to a more tolerable level, and he's one home run shy (11) of second place in the International League.
There's never been a debate about who the more intriguing player is, or who has the higher upside. The franchise has seemingly been acting as if they think House is the long-term answer for the past couple years.
As time continues to pass, service time becomes less and less of an obstacle for House in the eyes of the organization. I recently predicted that his debut would come around the middle of this month. While my opinion has not changed, Tena could delay the process if he continues to hit.
Nasim Nunez
I want to mention Nunez here, but not because he's contending for a starting spot at third base. He already doesn't have that, and he appears to be behind Amed Rosario on the depth chart, as well. Nunez deserves a mention here for other reasons, though.
The easy thing to say if you want to see House promoted is that the Nationals could keep Tena on the roster in a bench role, perhaps rotating around to play some at second base and even DH occasionally. He'd play less frequently, but it would allow you to keep a solid bat on the roster.
That ignores the value of Nunez, though. He doesn't need to play a ton, but he can fill a lot of roles off the bench. He's the team's best defender at shortstop and second base, among their best base runners, and now he appears to be capable of playing in the outfield in a pinch.
In short, whichever player holds the starting spot at third base, it shouldn't lead to Nunez being sent to Triple-A.
What do you think? How much longer do you think we might see Jose Tena as Washington's top third baseman? Let me know what you think @stephen_newman1 on X.