After struggling at third, Tena gets first look at second

One day after committing his eighth error in 24 games, José Tena is not starting at third base for the Nationals.

He’s starting at second base.

Wanting to give the struggling fielder a mental break from the unfamiliar position he’s learning on the fly in the majors, manager Davey Martinez decided to give him a start at a more comfortable position, giving Luis García Jr. the night off against Braves left-hander Max Fried.

“I just wanted to get him over there and relax a little bit,” Martinez said. “It’s a position he’s played quite a bit. And I want to see him play there. … I wanted to give Luis a day today, and I thought it would be a perfect opportunity to get Tena over there and kind of switch it up a little bit. We’ll see.”

Primarily a shortstop coming up through the Guardians’ farm system, Tena also has played a decent amount of second base. The Nationals’ greater need at the moment, though, is at third, so that’s where Tena has exclusively played since his acquisition last month.

It hasn’t gone very smoothly. Tena has been charged with eight errors in 61 total defensive chances, leaving him with an abysmal .869 fielding percentage. And that doesn’t include several other sloppy plays during which he hasn’t looked comfortable at the hot corner.

The Nationals do see defensive potential in the 23-year-old. They just don’t see experience.

“He’s got the ability to move, I think, a lot better at second base,” Martinez said. “His hands really do work. If you watch, even the balls he hasn’t made the plays on, the hard-hit balls, he gets a glove on the ball. Some of those balls that are hit right at him, for a guy who has never played the position, he gets the glove on the ball. Now he just has to learn how to finish the play over there.”

The Nats likely don’t view Tena as the long-term solution at third base, with top prospect Brady House expected to make his major league debut early in 2025, perhaps on Opening Day. But given his offensive production to date – he’s slashing .315/.351/.424 over 97 plate appearances – they want to find some kind of role for him, with utility man a strong possibility.

“He’s a good athlete,” Martinez said. “He runs a lot better than we thought when we got him. He hits the ball really well, which we knew. I think this kid has potential to hit some home runs for us. … Now it’s just a matter of getting him comfortable over at that position. I really feel like he probably can play second base. There’s thoughts about maybe even playing him in the outfield down the road. And even maybe play some first base. But I love his bat.”