Guards bring back familiar face in waiver claim Tena
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CLEVELAND -- The Guardians welcomed back a familiar face on Friday, when they claimed infielder José Tena off waivers from the Nationals.
Cleveland’s 40-man roster now sits at 37 players.
Tena, whom the Nats designated for assignment on Monday, returns to the organization with which he began his professional baseball career. Cleveland signed him as an international free agent out of the Dominican Republic in July 2017, and he made his MLB debut with the Guardians on Aug. 5 during the ‘23 season.
Tena, 25, appeared in 21 games with the Guardians over parts of two seasons before they dealt him to Washington in the July 2024 trade for outfielder Lane Thomas.
Tena then appeared in 205 games with the Nationals from ‘24-26, logging a .242/.306/.364 slash line over 621 plate appearances.
Over a career-high 115 games this past season, Tena slashed .222/.302/.370 with 13 doubles, seven home runs, 25 RBIs and 27 walks with 90 strikeouts in 288 plate appearances. Beyond his surface numbers, there is some intrigue under the hood.
From 2025 to '26, Tena's average bat speed increased from 70.7 mph to 73.9 mph, and his hard-hit rate jumped from 40.5 percent to 46.4 percent.
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Tena adds another versatile piece to the Guardians’ 40-man roster. He has seen time at each position beyond catcher, first base and center field in the Majors, with the bulk of his time coming at third base (88 appearances), DH (58) and second base (37).
Given Tena's versatility and the fact that he is out of Minor League options, it will be curious to see whether his addition foretells any additional roster maneuvering down the line.