From 'hot seat' to hot corner, Tena impressing Nats

WASHINGTON – For the games José Tena wasn’t in the lineup, he made sure to prepare as if his name was going to be called. Recently, it has been.

Tena has started six out of the last eight games at third base for the Nationals as Paul DeJong recovers from a fractured nose. The lefty hitter made his 11th appearance of the season on Saturday in the Nationals’ 2-0 loss to the Mets.

"His attitude has always been great,” said manager Dave Martinez. “He's getting way better over at third base. His footwork is a lot better. His positioning has been really, really good. And then the attention to detail with him has been really, really good.”

Tena, 24, was acquired last summer from the Guardians in the Lane Thomas trade. A shortstop for the majority of his Minor League career, he shifted to the hot corner for 34 starts with the Nationals. He compiled an .897 fielding percentage in 289 innings.

"We threw him in the hot seat by putting him over there, and he learned on the fly,” said Martinez. “So it was going to take some time.”

This winter, the Nats signed the All-Star infielder DeJong to add a veteran presence. DeJong moved seamlessly at third base during Spring Training, and he earned the starting role.

On April 15, DeJong was struck in the face by a fastball from Pirates starter Mitch Keller. He was placed on the 15-day IL the following day and will undergo surgery to repair his nose.

Back in the starting lineup at third base, Tena is displaying more ease at the position than last season. With two outs and two runners on, Tena chased down a Gunnar Henderson popout at the net to halt the Orioles’ momentum on Tuesday. On Saturday, he spun to his right to handle a slicing grounder from Mark Vientos. Tena has not committed an error this season.

"He looks comfortable. Last year, I couldn't say that,” Martinez said. “... The biggest thing is anticipating the ball being hit to you every single time. He cannot take a pitch off. … Secondly, what am I going to do with the ball when it is hit to me? He's been way better at that.

"Last year, he wasn't, because he was still feeling his way over there. I could tell at times, and I felt horrible. But we wanted him to learn a position that he wasn't comfortable [at] a lot of times over there. But he stuck with it, we stuck with him, and he's gotten a lot better.”

Tena is batting .375 with two doubles, one triple, five RBIs and three runs scored in his last six games. This includes the game-tying RBI single in the ninth inning of Friday’s comeback win.

"He’s not trying to do a whole lot -- he’s just trying to stay in the middle of the field,” said Martinez. “We know he’s really good at hitting the ball to left-center field. That’s what we want him to do. He’s really gotten back to just staying in the middle of the field, it’s been great. He’s playing the game really well.”

Tena is sharing duties at third base with veteran right-hander Amed Rosario while DeJong is sidelined. He has shown the Nationals he is willing to hone his skills when he is not in the lineup and implement his improvements when he is.

"I’m proud of him,” Martinez said. “Like I told him in the beginning, I said, ‘I know you’re not playing a lot. You’re going to play, but you have to take this time to really put the work in.’”