Juan

Yepez

It feels like a nice bargain for the Nationals, who add a legitimate middle-of-the-order slugger to a lineup that desperately needed another one. The two sides are very familiar with each other as Bell spent the 2021 season and the first half of the 2022 campaign with the Nationals before being dealt to the Padres at the deadline. He had a bit of a down season in 2024 and still slashed a respectable .249/.319/.405 with 19 homers and 71 RBI in 145 contests between the Marlins and Diamondbacks. It’ll be interesting to see who gets squeezed out of playing time, as the Nationals already brought in Nathaniel Lowe to be their regular first baseman, so the assumption is that Bell with function as their primary designated hitter. That’s definitely bad news for Juan Yepez and Andres Chaparro.

Yepez drew a walk in the first inning, then later took George Soriano deep for a solo homer in the eighth to give the Nationals an insurance run. It was Yepez’s sixth home run of the season while slashing .284/.340/.443 with 22 RBI across 203 plate appearances.

Yepez clobbered a three-run shot to turn a 5-1 lead for the Nationals to an 8-1 cushion, and essentially solidified the win The 26-year-old has gone deep four times and driven in 20 runs in his limited sample with Washington, and he’s hit .278/.329/.437 in the process.

The 25-year-old has played pretty much every day at either first base or DH since he was recalled by the Nationals last week. In his eight games, he’s gone 8-for-29 (.276) with four doubles, four runs scored, one RBI, and a 3:3 K:BB ratio. That seems good enough for the Nationals to continue giving him a chance to prove his merit to remain on the active roster for 2025, so this may just be a routine day off. Juan Yepez will start at DH and hit seventh in Chaparro’s place.

Gallo had been out since June 11 with a hamstring strain. He hit .206 with three homers and 11 walks during an 11-game rehab assignment with Triple-A Rochester. There’s not really any point to him being on the Nationals right now, but he’ll likely get some starts against righties while alternating between right field, first base and DH. Juan Yepez has slowed down recently and could be most vulnerable to losing playing time.

Yepez’s exit velocity numbers don’t really back up hit excellent .330/.380/.523 line, but no one need tell him that. He’s an option in mixed leagues while starting regularly and batting second and third for the Nationals.

Yepez delivered a two-run single as part of a seven-run rally in the sixth inning, then scored on Keibert Ruiz’s three-run blast. He also capped off the scoring for the Nationals with a run-scoring double in the seventh inning that made it a 10-2 ballgame. All Yepez has done is hit since being recalled from Triple-A, slashing .382/.434/.618 with a pair of homers, 13 RBI and a stolen base through his first 76 plate appearances.

The new Joey Meneses appears better than the old one, as Yepez has hit .375/.423/.609 in 71 plate appearances since being called up on July 5. He shouldn’t keep up this pace, but he’s definitely an option in deeper mixed leagues while playing regularly for the Nationals.

This was a game to forget for the Nationals, but Yepez keeps playing well. His slash line is up to .368/.429/.614 with 10 extra-base hits and eight RBI in 15 games this season. He’s available in far too many leagues as an everyday player who’s this hot at the plate.

The All-Star break could not slow down Yepez who’s been scalding hot since being put in the Nationals’ lineup. The homer was his first, but he’s up to seven extra-base hits in 11 games and scorched three hard-hit balls in this one. Every manager should take a flier on Yepez while he’s this hot and playing every day.