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Brady House had just left Innovative Field, taking his girlfriend to the Rochester airport and then making plans to get dinner and pack his bags for an expected week playing in Lehigh Valley when his phone rang. He was told he needed to turn around and come back to the ballpark for a meeting, and suddenly the 22-year-old had a hunch what this was all about.
“I had an idea, but obviously you don’t want to get yourself too excited in case it doesn’t happen,” he said. “I was just trying to get ready for whatever that meeting was.”
House’s hunch was right. Red Wings manager Matt LeCroy told the young third baseman he was getting called up by the Nationals and would be making his major league debut tonight. His girlfriend wouldn’t be boarding that flight. The two of them would be driving together to D.C., with the rest of his family making last-minute plans to fly here and witness a moment they’ve long anticipated.
“I was, honestly, getting ready to go get some dinner and do laundry and all that stuff,” he said. “And then that was the best surprise.”
House will bat sixth and start at third base tonight against Rockies left-hander Carson Palmquist. Manager Davey Martinez says he’ll be out there every day, perhaps bumped down a slot when facing a righty but here to play alongside the organization’s other top prospects who arrived in the majors ahead of the 2021 first-round pick.
“He’s going to get an opportunity to play every day,” Martinez said. “I kept it really short with him, because he’s been playing so well. I just told him: ‘Keep doing what you were doing down there. Play good defense and don’t worry about the hitting. The hitting will come.”
House had been on a tear at Triple-A, batting .383 with six doubles, five homers, 15 RBIs and a 1.061 OPS over his last 19 games. His continued improvement at third base – a position he just began playing in 2023 after getting drafted as a shortstop – also helped the club make the decision to make this move now.
The Nationals also recalled Daylen Lile today, bringing the 22-year-old outfielder back less than two weeks after he was demoted following an 11-game debut stint. Lile will start in right field and bat eighth tonight, taking the roster spot that had been held by fellow prospect Robert Hassell III, who was optioned back to Rochester after batting .218 and slugging .269 in 21 games.
“I think this first time around, he tried to do a little too much. And that’s not who he is,” Martinez said. “The power is there. It will come. We just want to reset him a little bit. He’s definitely a big part of our future, no doubt about it.”
House takes the roster spot held by José Tena, who was optioned as well after batting .249 with a .690 OPS in 44 games as the team’s primary third baseman. Martinez said Tena will split time between third, second base and shortstop in Rochester, evidence his best chance of returning will be in a utility role.
Because House wasn’t already on the 40-man roster, the Nationals needed to make another move and opted to designate first baseman/designated hitter Juan Yepez (who sported a .575 OPS in 45 games with Rochester) for assignment.
* Several injured players are ready to begin minor league rehab assignments, all with Double-A Harrisburg, their first step toward returning to the active roster.
Paul DeJong will begin playing Tuesday, seeing time at third base, shortstop and DH. The veteran infielder, the Nationals’ Opening Day third baseman, was struck in the face by a pitch April 16, breaking his nose and two other bones near his eye socket. With House now the everyday third baseman in D.C., Martinez said DeJong could return as a right-handed DH and backup shortstop.
Mason Thompson also will begin a rehab assignment Tuesday, the reliever’s first true game action since he underwent his second career Tommy John surgery in March 2024. Thompson already pitched in one game in West Palm Beach, tossing a scoreless inning.
Derek Law threw a simulated game today at Nationals Park and is now ready to begin a rehab assignment Thursday, a key step in the veteran reliever’s long anticipated return from the forearm inflammation that has sidelined him since Opening Day. Law figures to remain on rehab through the team’s upcoming nine-game West Coast trip, likely ready to be activated once the Nats are back home the first week of July.
Meanwhile, top pitching prospect Jarlin Susana, who had been shut down with an elbow injury some club officials initially feared could be serious, has resumed throwing and appears to be fine.
