Guardians Bring Back Former Prospect With Waiver Claim

All roads lead back home.

And for Jose Tena, that means heading back to the organization that signed him as an international free agent and eventually made his big-league debut with, too.

On Friday afternoon, the Cleveland Guardians reportedly claimed Tena off waivers from the Washington Nationals after he was designated for assignment earlier this month.

Cleveland fans may remember Tena most for being at the center of a trade that helped the Guardians land Lane Thomas from the Nationals at the 2024 deadline. Of course, Thomas went on to hit one of the most memorable home runs in Cleveland playoff history during that year’s ALDS.

Before being traded to the National League, Tena was Cleveland’s No. 9 overall prospect in 2022 and was always in the conversation as being a part of Cleveland’s middle infield logjam. The other players in the group at that time included Andres Gimenez, Brayan Rocchio, Gabriel Arias, Juan Brito, and Tyler Freeman.

Eventually, the Guardians determined Tena wasn’t part of the future, but now he is back with the organization, which is clearly ready to give him another chance in some capacity.

Even though Tena landed on waivers, he did still have some bright spots during his career, and the vision for him to at least be a potential bench piece is there.

Tena has accumulated 288 career plate appearances and has a .240/.302/.370 slash line in those opportunities. During the 2026 season with the Nationals, he logged a .672 OPS, which was actually a career high.

The left-handed hitter's primary strength in the batter's box throughout his career has been his power hitting, even though he is only five-foot-ten and 195 pounds.

Tena logged an average exit velocity of 90.6 mph with a hard-hit rate of 46.4 percent last season, with each of those numbers being well above the league average. His bat speed of 73.9 mph was also a steep improvement from the year before.

The infielder by trade isn’t known as a standout defender, but he is versatile. Tena has appeared at second base, third base, shortstop, left field, and right field throughout his career.

There’s a motive behind every move in the offseason, and it still remains to be seen what Cleveland has in mind for Tena. Being claimed means he’ll be added to the 40-man roster, but the 25-year-old is out of Minor League options.

Depending on how the rest of the offseason plays out, how Tena is used and where he fills in could be a storyline to watch in spring training.