Yepez relishing MLB opportunity with Nats' need at 1st

WASHINGTON -- First base continues to be an evolving position for the Nationals.

Joey Meneses, who took over the role when Joey Gallo went down with a left hamstring strain on June 11, was recently optioned to Triple-A Rochester, and the Nats called up Juan Yepez from the Red Wings to start at first on Friday night.

“It was all really about Joey, try to get Joey locked in,” manager Dave Martinez said before the Nationals’ 7-6, 11-inning loss to the Cardinals at Nationals Park. “He’ll go down and try to work on his swing and just get him back. It’s not like we’ve seen the end of Joey.

“Yepez has been hitting the ball really well, playing good first base, so we wanted to give him an opportunity to come up here and see what he can do. He’s done everything we’ve asked him to do down there, he’s done it really well, so we’re going to give him an opportunity to come here and try to help us win games.”

Yepez’s first time having his contract selected by the Nationals was a mix of a new experience and years of familiarity.

The 26-year-old signed a Minor League deal with the Nats in December after he was non-tendered by the Cardinals in November. He participated in Major League Spring Training and posted solid numbers when he began the season with the Red Wings.

Yepez hit .263 with 15 doubles, 11 home runs, 41 RBIs, 38 runs, 40 walks and three stolen bases in 74 Triple-A games this season. Among Nationals Minor League players, he ranked third in OPS (.795), tied for third in extra-base hits (26) and walks (40) and ranked fourth in homers and slugging percentage (.438).

When Yepez got word he would be joining the Nationals on Friday, he just thought about who he would be playing for. Later, he realized who he was playing against: The Nats opened a four-game series against St. Louis, the organization Yepez was a member of from 2017-23 and made his Major League debut with in ‘22.

“It’s good to see these guys, but I’m just blessed to be here in the big leagues,” said Yepez, who went 8-for-11 against the Cardinals in Spring Training.

On Friday, Yepez went 1-for-4 with a walk and two strikeouts. He overcame an 0-2 count to hit a line-drive single off right-hander Sonny Gray in his first at-bat, continuing his trend of production against righties.

Yepez came up in a high-leverage moment in the bottom of the 10th. With Luis García Jr. on second base and Nasim Nuñez on third base, Yepez faced MLB’s save leader Ryan Helsley in a 10-pitch at-bat. After fouling off the previous three pitches, Yepez lined out into a double play that nabbed Nuñez and ended the rally.

“Yepez had some really good at-bats,” Martinez said. “He had a tough at-bat against Helsley, which is not easy, and he lined out. In that situation, Nuñez was going on contact so it was just unfortunate.”

The Nationals hope Meneses, 32, uses the time with the Red Wings as a reset. In 76 games at DH and first base this season, Meneses hit .231 with 12 doubles, three home runs, 19 runs, 43 RBIs, 21 walks and two stolen bases.

“I reiterated, ‘You’re going to come back here. It’s almost like just to kind of get you to relax a little bit and just find the consistency in your swing,’” Martinez said. “We’ve done this before with pitching just to kind of give guys a little break. … I could see that he was really getting frustrated, and that to me was the key.”

Meneses showed his power when he debuted on Aug. 2, 2022. In 56 games that season, he batted .324 with 13 home runs and 34 RBIs. Last season, he hit .275 with 13 homers and 89 RBIs in 154 games while moving mostly into the designated hitter role.

“He just wasn't really staying in his legs like we used to see him and getting himself in a good position to hit every pitch. He was battling,” Martinez said. “Look, the times that we needed him to drive in runs, he came up with some clutch RBIs for us. But we need to see a little bit more consistency from him and for him to start driving the ball a little bit better.”

Yepez is expected to see the majority of playing time at first base. Harold Ramírez, Ildemaro Vargas and Jesse Winker also are options to play there.