Nationals' Joey Meneses: Three hits in Thursday's loss
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Meneses went 3-for-4 with a double and an RBI in Thursday's loss to the Dodgers.
It's the third multi-hit performance in the last five games for Meneses, who's started seven straight contests while batting .360 (9-for-25). The 31-year-old is still looking for his first homer of the season an d has only two doubles, but with Lane Thomas (knee) on the shelf and Joey Gallo needed in right field, Meneses' playing time looks secure as he flips between first base and DH. On the season, he's slashing .257/.337/.284 with 10 RBI but only two runs scored in 20 games.
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Nationals' Joey Meneses: Back in lineup, but losing work
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Meneses will start at first base and bat fifth in Wednesday's game against the Dodgers, Mark Zuckerman of MASNSports.com reports.
Meneses will draw back into the starting nine for the series finale, but he seems to be the odd man out of the lineup of late, at least against right-handed pitching. He hadn't started in any of the previous three matchups versus righties, with Joey Gallo occupying first base and Jesse Winker serving as Washington's designated hitter in each of those contests. The reduction in playing time comes after Meneses has provided lowly .522 OPS though his first 57 plate appearances of the season.
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Nationals' Joey Meneses: Resting Saturday
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Meneses isn't in the Nationals' lineup for Saturday's game against the Athletics, Andrew Golden of The Washington Post reports.
Meneses went 1-for-4 during Friday's loss to the A's and will now receive his second day off in Washington's last three games. Jesse Winker will instead serve as the Nationals' DH, moving Eddie Rosario to left field while Jacob Young starts in center.
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Nationals' Joey Meneses: Receives first day off
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Meneses is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Giants, Mark Zuckerman of MASNSports.com reports.
He'll take a seat for the first time all season while Joey Gallo and Jesse Winker pick up starts at first base and designated hitter, respectively. Through the Nationals' first 11 games, Meneses has slashed .190/.271/.214 with no home runs or stolen bases, two RBI and one run.
Nationals' Joey Meneses: Likely to DH again this season
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Meneses appears set to spend most of his time at DH after the Nationals added Joey Gallo and Eddie Rosario to the roster this offseason, Mark Zuckerman of MASN Sports reports.
Rosario, who signed a minor-league deal with the team last week, is the favorite to win the starting left field job, which would bump Gallo to first base and Meneses to DH. There are a few complicating factors that cloud the playing-time outlook for Meneses, however. Jesse Winker, also in camp on a minor-league deal, is batting .350 (7-for-20) with a 5:4 BB:K, while Meneses is batting just .214 (6-for-28). Stone Garrett (lower leg) will also need at-bats once he's healthy, and top outfield prospects Dylan Crews and James Wood could also push their way onto the big-league roster over the summer. After a sizzling 56-game MLB debut in 2022, Meneses' production swooned last season, as he managed only a .722 OPS with 13 homers in 154 games. If the 31-year-old can't deliver better numbers at the plate in 2024, he could fall out of a regular role.
Nationals' Joey Meneses: Played through knee injury
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Nationals manager Dave Martinez revealed Monday that Meneses played through a knee injury this season, Andrew Golden of The Washington Post reports.
It's not clear when Meneses' knee began bothering him, but Martinez indicated it's a big reason why the 31-year-old was basically a full-time designated hitter. With Dominic Smith no longer around, Martinez would like to use Meneses some at first base in 2024 and possibly even some in the outfield. As for how Meneses is progressing in his recovery from the knee problem, Martinez said the right-handed hitter is "doing a lot of agility stuff" this offseason and "looks good so far."
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Nationals' Joey Meneses: Homers, collects three hits
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Meneses went 3-for-6 with a two-run homer in Wednesday's victory over the White Sox.
Meneses singled in two of his first three at-bats before launching a two-run home run in the fifth to extend Washington's lead. The 31-year-old has now homered in back-to-back games, collecting five RBI over that brief stretch, while Wednesday also marked his 14th game this season with at least three hits.
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Nationals' Joey Meneses: Cranks pinch-hit homer
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Meneses went 1-for-1 with a three-run homer in Tuesday's win over the White Sox.
Pinch-hitting for Blake Rutherford in the seventh inning, Meneses launched a clutch three-run homer off Bryan Shaw, putting the Nationals ahead 4-2 en route to a 4-3 victory. The homer was Menses' first in 37 games, with his last coming Aug. 8. While he's hit only 12 homers this year, the 31-year-old Menses is still slashing a solid .279/.326/.406 with a team-high 84 RBI to go with 67 runs scored through 610 plate appearances.
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Nationals' Joey Meneses: Not in lineup Tuesday
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Meneses is not in the lineup Tuesday versus the White Sox.
Dominic Smith will start at first base for the Nationals as Keibert Ruiz takes a turn in the DH role and Drew Millas does the catching. Meneses went 0-for-4 in Monday's series opener against Chicago and is slashing just .222/.271/.259 in 59 plate appearances since the calendar flipped to September.
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Nationals' Joey Meneses: Day off Saturday
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Meneses isn't in the Nationals' lineup Saturday against the Dodgers, Mark Zuckerman of MASNSports.com reports.
Meneses will get a breather Saturday after going 1-for-4 with a run scored in Friday's series opener. Lane Thomas will fill in as the Nats' designated hitter while Jake Alu, Jacob Young and Travis Blankenhorn man the outfield.
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Nationals' Joey Meneses: Gets rare day off
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Meneses is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Marlins, Mark Zuckerman of MASNSports.com reports.
Meneses will head to the bench for just the ninth time all season and for the first time since July 28. His day off comes after he went 0-for-11 with four strikeouts over the first three games of the series. Prior to the dry spell at the dish, Meneses had cobbled together a seven-game hitting streak during which he batted .345 with seven RBI and three runs.
Nationals' Joey Meneses: Career-high five RBI in win
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Meneses went 2-for-5 with two doubles, five RBI and two runs scored in Thursday's win over the Red Sox.
Meneses put the Nationals on top 3-1 with a two-run double in the bottom of the fifth inning and added another two-run double in the sixth to further extend the lead. The first baseman racked up a career-high five RBI on the afternoon and raised his batting average to .283 on the season. Meneses has now recorded multiple hits in two straight games and three of his last four, scoring six runs over that stretch to go along with his five RBI on Thursday.
