Lipscomb takes over at third after Senzel designated for assignment

The Nationals wrapped up a week of notable transactions involving the promotion of young players at the expense of struggling veterans with a significant swap at third base, calling up Trey Lipscomb from Triple-A Rochester and designating Nick Senzel for assignment.

Lipscomb will start at the hot corner for today’s game against the Cardinals and will be given the opportunity to hold down that position for the remainder of the season.

“As you can tell, we’ve got the youth movement going on,” manager Davey Martinez said. “And he’s a big part of our future, so we wanted to give him an opportunity to see what he can do.”

Lipscomb, who is making his fourth stint in the majors this season, joins good friend and fellow Maryland native James Wood as well as 26-year-old first baseman Juan Yepez as players called up from Rochester this week, with the Nats injecting youth to bolster a flailing lineup. Senzel joins outfielder Eddie Rosario as players who have been DFA’d this week; Joey Meneses was optioned to Triple-A on Friday.

Lipscomb’s offensive performance was erratic during his first three big league stints. In 38 total games, he hit .237 with a .311 on-base percentage, only two extra-base hits and 10 stolen bases. But aside from his first call-up after Senzel was injured Opening Day, his playing time was inconsistent.

This time, the 24-year-old will get the chance to play third base every day for an extended stretch as the organization tries to figure out how he fits into the long-term plan.

“We felt like it’s time for Trey to come up and play the majority of the time at third base,” Martinez said. “We wanted to give him a shot. He went down there and checked all the boxes. Started swinging the bat really well. Started driving the ball. So we thought it would be a good opportunity to keep doing what he’s been doing and bring him up here and see what he can do every day.”

Lipscomb was demoted to Triple-A only 12 days ago but immediately went on his best sustained offensive stretch of the season. In 10 games with the Red Wings, he hit .395 with a .452 on-base percentage, five doubles, three homers and 12 RBIs. The versatile infielder did bounce around positions but will now focus exclusively on third base unless an in-game situation prompts a move.

“We sent him back down with some things we wanted him to work on. He did that, and all of a sudden something clicked and he started driving the ball,” Martinez said. “We know what he can do defensively, but that’s kind of what we needed to see. He’s swinging at more balls in the strike zone. So we’re going to get him up here while he’s swinging the bat well, and see if he can continue to do that here.”

Senzel’s time with the Nationals ends after three disappointing months. The 29-year-old, drafted second in the country by the Reds in 2016, hit .206 with seven homers, 18 RBIs and a .663 OPS in 64 games. Five of the homers and nine of the RBIs came during a five-game stretch in late April, after he returned from his season-opening finger injury.

The Nats picked up Senzel in December for $2 million after he was nontendered by the Reds after five disappointing and injury-plagued seasons. He did still have an option remaining, plus another year of club control before he could become a free agent, but the team chose to DFA him and eat his remaining salary unless another organization claims him off waivers.

“I felt like there were times when he put more pressure on himself,” Martinez said. “We wanted him to relax a little bit. But he always wanted to help us win. He gave me tons of effort, which I love. I wish him the best. He’s a good kid.”