José Tena DVOA, Advanced Stats, & Fantasy Rankings

Washington Nationals outfielder Jacob Young and third baseman Jose Tena will start on the bench for Thursday's contest against the visiting Baltimore Orioles at Nationals Park. Dylan Crews is starting in center field and will bat eighth, Alex Call is in right field and in the two-hole, and Amed Rosario is starting at third base and batting sixth versus Orioles left-hander Cade Povich. Young went 0-for-3 on Wednesday to snap a three-game hitting streak and is hitting just .220 (11-for-50) with no homers, one RBI, two steals and six runs scored as a platoon outfielder in D.C. Tena has hits in both of his at-bats against lefties this year with two RBI, but the left-handed hitter will take a seat in favor of Rosario. Although Call has yet to clear the fences in 42 at-bats in 2025, he'll be the better DFS sleeper play in the second spot. The 30-year-old is hitting .310 (13-for-42) with eight RBI and seven runs scored.

Washington Nationals third baseman Jose Tena has won a bench job on the Opening Day roster, reports Andrew Golden. He didn't have an exceptional spring, batting just .156 with a 28.0% strikeout rate in 50 plate appearances. In 2024, he slashed .267/.298/.354 with three home runs in 44 major league games. He isn't likely to see consistent playing time and hasn't shown any potential in terms of fantasy, so he's safe to keep off of your radar.

MASN's Bobby Blanco writes that Washington Nationals infielders Trey Lipscomb, Jose Tena and Brady House are the most likely candidates to compete for the starting third base job in spring training this year. Lipscomb, 24, has the most MLB experience of the trio after making his big-league debut in 2024 and hitting .200/.268/.232 with a homer, 10 RBI and 11 steals in 61 games. He showed a strong glove, but Lipscomb was optioned four times in six months and recalled five times. Tena, 23, started 34 of the team's final 44 games at third and hit .274 with three homers, 15 RBI and six steals in 41 games with the Nats. He didn't outshine Lipscomb in the field but was much more impressive with the bat and produced nice exit velocities. House, 21, has been good on offense and defense but he has only made 51 appearances at third at Triple-A. The former first-rounder has more long-term upside but also needs more experience.