José Tena (baseball)

José Luis Tena (born March 20, 2001) is a Dominican professional baseball infielder for the Washington Nationals of Major League Baseball (MLB). He made his MLB debut with the Cleveland Guardians in 2023.

José Tena
Tena with the Lake County Captains in 2021
Washington Nationals – No. 8
Infielder
Born: (2001-03-20) March 20, 2001 (age 23) San Cristóbal, Dominican Republic
Bats: Left Throws: Right
MLB debut
August 5, 2023, for the Cleveland Guardians
MLB statistics (through 2024 season)
Batting average	.260
Home runs	3
Runs batted in	18
Teams
Cleveland Guardians (2023–2024) Washington Nationals (2024–present)

Career

Cleveland Indians / Guardians

Tena signed with the Cleveland Indians as an international free agent on July 2, 2017.^[1][2] He made his professional debut in 2018 with the Dominican Summer League Indians, batting .313 with one home run and 23 runs batted in over 51 games. He spent the 2019 season with the rookie–level Arizona League Indians where he hit .325 with one home run and 18 runs batted in over 44 games.^[3] Tena did not play in a game in 2020 due to the cancellation of the minor league season because of the COVID-19 pandemic.^[4]

Tena spent the 2021 season with the Lake County Captains, slashing .281/.331/.467 with 16 home runs and 58 runs batted in over 107 games.^[5] After the season, he played in the Arizona Fall League for the Scottsdale Scorpions where he won the batting title with a .387 average over 17 games.^[6] On November 19, 2021, Cleveland added Tena to their 40-man roster to protect him from the Rule 5 draft.^[7] He split the 2022 campaign between the Double–A Akron RubberDucks and Triple–A Columbus Clippers, slashing a combined .267/.306/.419 with 14 home runs, 68 RBI, and eight stolen bases across 132 games.^[8]

Tena was optioned to Triple–A Columbus to begin the 2023 season.^[9] On August 4, 2023, Tena was promoted to the major leagues for the first time.^[10] On August 10, he registered his first major league hit, an RBI single against Alek Manoah of the Toronto Blue Jays.^[11] In 18 games during his rookie campaign, Tena went 7–for–31 (.226) with 3 RBI.

Tena was optioned to Triple–A Columbus to begin the 2024 season.^[12] In three games for Cleveland in 2024, he went 0–for–4.

Washington Nationals

On July 29, 2024, Tena, along with minor leaguers Alex Clemmey and Rafael Ramírez Jr., were traded to the Washington Nationals in exchange for Lane Thomas.^[13]

References

1. "Who is Jose Tena?". March 2, 2020.
2. "George Valera, Jose Tena climbing Indians' minor-league ladder". August 12, 2021.
3. "No. 20 Jose Tena, SS: Cleveland Indians top prospects right now". April 14, 2020.
4. "2020 Minor League Baseball season canceled". MLB.com.
5. "The 12 Youngest Players on 2021 Arizona Fall League Rosters". October 6, 2021.
6. "20-year-old Tena wins AFL batting title". MLB.com.
7. "Guardians Announce Series Of 40-man Roster Moves". CleGuardians.com. November 19, 2021.
8. "Jose Tena - Baseball Stats". thebaseballcube.com. Retrieved September 18, 2024.
9. "Guardians' Jose Tena: Sent down to Triple-A". cbssports.com. Retrieved March 15, 2023.
10. "Guardians place Josh Naylor, Tyler Freeman on injured list, add José Tena, veteran OF Kole Calhoun". August 4, 2023.
11. "WATCH: Jose Tena Gets First Major League Hit In Big Inning For Guardians". si.com. August 10, 2023. Retrieved March 21, 2024.
12. "Guardians' Jose Tena: Optioned to Columbus". cbssports.com. March 21, 2024.
13. Rogers, Jesse (July 29, 2024). "Nationals deal outfielder Lane Thomas to Guardians". ESPN.com. Retrieved July 29, 2024.

External links

• Career statistics from MLB, or ESPN, or Baseball Reference, or Fangraphs, or Baseball Reference (Minors)