Nats recall Tena, option Lipscomb and reinstate Weems (Abrams remains out with back tightness)

As we get closer to the end of the season, it’s that time of year when the Nationals will bring up some new players to give them an extended chance at the major league level to evaluate for 2025.

Today is one of those days where a new, young player is getting his shot.

Before tonight’s game against the Angels, the Nats recalled infielder José Tena from Triple-A Rochester 12 days after he was acquired as one of the three players included in the Lane Thomas trade with the Guardians.

The 23-year-old native of the Dominican Republic entered the Nats system with some big-league experience, hitting .200 with a .520 OPS in 21 games with Cleveland over the last two seasons. But he went straight to Rochester only to force his way back to the bigs.

In 10 games with the Red Wings, five of Tena’s seven hits went for extra bases with four doubles and a home run.

“Very different atmosphere going into a trade deadline and then, obviously, getting traded this year. But I'm very proud of what I've done,” Tena said via interpreter Octavio Martinez with a No. 8 jersey hanging in front of his new locker in the Nats clubhouse. “I'm just here to try to do what I can and impress this team as much as I can. Do my job up here at the big league level.”

Tena also brings some defensive versatility in the field. He has appeared in 62 games at shortstop, 18 at second base and 17 at third base this season. He’ll start tonight playing third and batting sixth.

“José was swinging the bat really well down in Triple-A, so we're gonna give an opportunity to come up here and play,” said manager Davey Martinez. “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.”

Tena should be the first of a handful of big league promotions we see over the final weeks of the season. While the Nationals evaluate what they have in-house before the offseason, these young players will get a chance to prove themselves and further insert themselves into the organization's future plans.

“I just want to get the opportunity to show my talents up here,” Tena said.

His promotion, however, meant someone needed to be sent off the roster. Trey Lipscomb was unfortunately on that side of the roster move, being optioned down to Rochester for the fourth time this season.

Lipscomb, 24, has hit .207 with three doubles, one homer, 10 RBIs, 16 walks, 11 stolen bases and 20 runs scored in 58 games during his rookie season. But he really struggled over this most recent major league stint to the tune of a .152 average over his last 20 games.

“We gotta get Trey a little bit more comfortable at the plate,” Davey Martinez said. “He's playing unbelievable defense. We want to get him to work on some things, give him some everyday at-bats and get him back hitting the way we know he's capable of hitting.”

An up-and-down season could be tough on a young player in his rookie year. But the Nationals are confident Lipscomb will work hard to get back in the majors before the season’s over.

“You always want everybody to come up here and be successful. But it's part of the game,” Davey Martinez said. “I told him that because you got options, it's part of it. Just understand you gotta go down there and work to get yourself back up here. And I hope to see him back up here. If I know Trey, he's going down and will work really hard to get back here.”

Meanwhile, the Nats also activated Jordan Weems off the 15-day injured list after they optioned Joan Adon to Rochester last night.

Weems had been on the IL since July 26 with right shin splints. Despite his 6.59 ERA and 1.683 WHIP in 40 appearances this season, the right-hander provides a fresh arm in a Nats bullpen that needs one after using a lot of their relievers this week.

“I watched him throw a bullpen the other day and he was throwing the ball really well,” Davey Martinez said of Weems. “So hopefully, the injury definitely calmed down a little bit and he can get back to what he was in the beginning of the year. He got big outs for us. I told him he's gonna pitch and pitch in some high-leverage situations. We need you to step up here, so let's see how he does.”

* CJ Abrams remains out of the lineup after being a late scratch last night with upper back tightness. The young shortstop said he felt it tighten up on him on Thursday with the multiple rain delays, but that he isn’t too concerned it’s a long-term issue.

“Just a little back thing,” he said. “It's a little tight. Should be good, so we'll be fine.”

With a night game tonight, a morning game tomorrow and an off-day on Monday, it’s possible the Nats let Abrams rest until Tuesday’s opener against the Orioles in Baltimore. But they will see if he’s able to swing a bat tonight or Sunday to make himself available to pinch-hit.

“If he's available to pinch-hit if he gets better, great. If not, then we'll just keep an eye on it,” Davey Martinez said. “Yesterday, he was really stiff. He took a swing and couldn't do it. Today, I told him to just go get treatment before you do anything. And he came back and said he's still pretty stiff. So I said OK, we'll just keep you out today. And if tomorrow, because of a quick turnaround, if he can swing the bat a little bit tonight and feels like he could pinch-hit, then maybe tomorrow we'll see where he's at.”