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Tena went 2-for-3 with a solo home run and an additional run scored in Wednesday's win over the Rangers.
Tena kicked off the scoring with a solo shot to straightaway center field in the third inning off righty Kumar Rocker. Tena sees most of his action as a designated hitter but got his second start of the season in left field Wednesday. The 25-year-old is slashing .233/.304/.393 with seven homers and 20 RBI in 206 at-bats this year against righties, against whom he gets most of his opportunities.
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Nationals' Jose Tena: Losing out on playing time
Rotowire
Tena is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Mets.
Tena has been included in the lineup just once in the Nationals' last six games, missing out on two starts against right-handed pitching during that span. Rather than calling upon Tena to hold down the strong side of a platoon at designated hitter, the Nationals may be content to rotate players at that spot to open up more at-bats for the likes of Brady House and Andres Chaparro.
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Nationals' Jose Tena: Taking seat
Rotowire
Tena is not in the lineup for Thursday's game versus the Cubs.
The left-handed-hitting Tena typically plays against most right-handers, but he'll take a seat Thursday versus righty Kevin Gausman, who has reverse splits. Andres Chaparro will occupy the designated hitter slot for the Nationals.
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Nationals' Jose Tena: Withheld from lineup versus lefty
Rotowire
Tena is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Cubs.
The Nationals will keep the left-handed-hitting Tena on the bench for the second day in a row while the Cubs send another lefty (David Peterson) to the hill. Daylen Lile will spell Ortiz at designated hitter and will bat eighth.
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Nationals' Jose Tena: Taking hold of platoon role
Rotowire
Tena will start at designated hitter and bat sixth in Wednesday's game against the Phillies.
Tena will be included in the lineup for a fifth consecutive matchup versus a right-handed pitcher (Andrew Painter) and looks poised to hold down a strong-side platoon role at DH after James Wood (oblique) was placed on the injured list Tuesday. For the season, Tena has slashed .230/.291/.374 in 203 plate appearances versus righties.
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Nationals' Jose Tena: On bench against righty again
Rotowire
Tena is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Blue Jays.
After starting in each of the Nationals' previous five consecutive matchups with right-handed starters, Tena has now been left on the bench against righties Shane Bieber and Trey Yesavage for the final two tilts with Toronto. Rather than leaning Tena as their regular designated hitter, the Nationals may prefer to rotate a number of different players at that lineup spot.
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Nationals' Jose Tena: Not in Tuesday's lineup
Rotowire
Tena is absent from the lineup for Tuesday's contest versus the Blue Jays.
The left-handed-swinging Tena had drawn five straight starts against righties (with four of them coming from the designated hitter slot), but he'll begin this one on the bench as the Blue Jays send righty Shane Bieber to the hill. James Wood will fill the DH spot Tuesday, and Daylen Lile, Jacob Young and Dylan Crews will patrol the outfield.
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Nationals' Jose Tena: Smacks late homer as pinch hitter
Rotowire
Tena went 1-for-1 with a solo home run in Tuesday's 6-3 loss to Houston.
Tena was brought out for the ninth inning to pinch hit for Jacob Young, and the former answered the call by taking Alimber Santa deep to right-center field for a solo homer. It was the fifth long ball of the season for Tena, two of which have come over his last four games. He is slashing .239/.303/.411 with 19 RBI, three steals and 16 extra-base hits across 178 plate appearances this season.
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Nationals' Jose Tena: Pops fourth homer
Rotowire
Tena went 1-for-5 with a two-run home run in Friday's win over the Pirates.
Getting the start at DH and batting third, Tena took Mitch Keller deep in the third inning for his fourth homer of the year. Tena has mainly been an option off the bench against right-handed pitching of late, amassing just 49 plate appearances since the beginning of June with a .222/.286/.378 slash line, one homer, two steals, five runs and five RBI.
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Nationals' Jose Tena: Settling back into bench role
Rotowire
Tena is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Marlins.
Tena will be on the bench for the second straight day following a stretch of five games in which he made four starts at designated hitter and went 1-for-13 with a walk and a run scored. The spike in playing time was tied to Dylan Crews missing out on a couple of starts due to a hand injury, but with Crews having since moved past that issue, Tena's opportunities could be more scarce moving forward.
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Nationals' Jose Tena: On bench again Tuesday
Rotowire
Tena is out of the lineup for Tuesday's game against the Guardians.
The left-handed-hitting Tena will hit the bench for the sixth time in seven games, this time taking a seat against Guardians lefty Joey Cantillo. Two of Tena's recent absences came against right-handed pitchers, perhaps signaling that the 25-year-old doesn't have a firm grip on a strong-side platoon role. The Nationals may be more inclined to give a look at Curtis Mead as an everyday player at third base; though he's done most of his damage against lefties this season, Mead started against a right-hander (Tanner Bibee) in Monday's 10-2 win over Cleveland and went 2-for-5 with a pair of home runs.
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Nationals' Jose Tena: Riding pine Sunday
Rotowire
Tena is out of the lineup for Sunday's game in Atlanta.
Tena will head to the bench for the second time in the series, this time against a left-handed starter (Martin Perez) after he wasn't part of the lineup in Friday's matchup with right-hander Bryce Elder. Curtis Mead will cover third base Sunday, but Tena will be primarily competing with Jorbit Vivas for playing time at the position versus right-handed pitching.
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Nationals' Jose Tena: Smacks solo homer Tuesday
Rotowire
Tena went 1-for-4 with a solo home run and an additional run scored during the Nationals' 9-6 win over the Mets on Tuesday.
Tena tied the game at 5-5 after taking Nolan McLean deep to left-center field for a solo homer. It was the third home run of the season for Tena, who is slashing .247/.307/.441 with 13 RBI and 16 runs scored across 101 plate appearances in 2026.
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Nationals' Jose Tena: Resting Wednesday
Rotowire
Tena is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Reds, Mark Zuckerman of NatsJournal.com reports.
The left-handed-hitting Tena will receive a breather Wednesday while the Reds send lefty Nick Lodolo to the hill. Tena will be replaced in the starting nine by Joey Wiemer, who gets the nod in right field while Daylen Lile occupies the designated-hitter spot.
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Nationals' Jose Tena: Heading to bench Sunday
Rotowire
Tena is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Marlins.
Tena started five of the previous six games, but he'll hit the bench Sunday while CJ Abrams gets a day off from playing shortstop as the designated hitter. While Washington may continue to hold him out against left-handed pitching, Tena should start versus right-handers more often than not, as he's maintained a .288/.338/.485 slash line (130 wRC+) over 71 plate appearances in that split this season.
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Nationals' Jose Tena: Swats second homer
Rotowire
Tena went 2-for-5 with a double, a home run and two RBI in Wednesday's win over the Twins.
The 25-year-old utility player took Luis Garcia deep in the eighth inning to cap off a 15-2 rout. It was Tena's second long ball of the season, and he's been scorching hot of late -- he's delivered six hits in the last four games and five of them (three doubles, a triple and a homer) have gone for extra bases, boosting his slash line on the season to .297/.348/.484 in 69 plate appearances with 10 RBI and 11 runs.
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Nationals' Jose Tena: On bench for fifth straight
Rotowire
Tena is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Mets.
The left-handed-hitting Tena will hit the bench for the fifth game in a row, though the Nationals have faced four left-handed starters during that stretch. Even so, Tena looks like he might have to settle for a part-time role against right-handed pitching, with Jorbit Vivas having built a case for more opportunities.
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Nationals' Jose Tena: Three hits in Friday's loss
Rotowire
Tena went 3-for-4 with a double, a run scored and an RBI in Friday's loss to the Giants.
The utility infielder got the start at designated hitter and hit eighth, putting together his first multi-hit performance in April. Tena has seen most of his action to begin the season at DH and has been used exclusively against right-handed pitchers, and while he's hit .355 (11-for-31) in that role, he has zero homers or steals, and that batting average is inflated by a .478 BABIP.
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Nationals' Jose Tena: Playing time trending down
Rotowire
Tena is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Pirates.
Tena has started in just one of the Nationals' last six games, sitting on three occasions against left-handed starters and twice against righties. The 25-year-old has posted a modest .665 OPS over 28 plate appearances on the season and may have to settle for more of a part-time role if Washington elects to open up playing time for Jorbit Vivas (.814 OPS in 40 plate appearances).
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Nationals' Jose Tena: Getting day off
Rotowire
Tena is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Brewers.
The left-handed-hitting Tena will hit the bench against Brewers righty Brandon Woodruff. Tena had started the Nationals' prior three matchups against righties, but he'll cede his spot in the lineup to Jorbit Vivas on Sunday.
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