The Washington Nationals have kept shortstop Nassim Nuñez on their active roster all season long, despite his limited impact at the plate, on the basepaths or on the field.

Then, in Wednesday afternoon’s game against the Arizona Diamondbacks, Nuñez finally made his presence known.

Nuñez was the Nationals’ starting shortstop, as CJ Abrams was out with a left wrist injury. Even then, not a single ball was hit Nuñez’s way through the first three innings.

Diamondbacks designated hitter Eugenio Suárez broke that streak in the top of the fourth, when he sent a soft liner to Nuñez with no outs and the bases loaded. Nuñez couldn’t reel it in, letting it bounce off his outreached glove, but he recovered and delivered a perfect throw home to prevent a run.

Starting pitcher Patrick Corbin may have walked in a run the very next at-bat, but that’s as far as Arizona’s rally would go, thanks to Nuñez.

At that plate, Nuñez drew a walk of his own in the bottom of the sixth inning. It marked the first time all season he had reached base safely.

Of course, Nuñez had only appeared in 16 games and earned just eight plate appearances prior to Wednesday. Even though it took him 12 weeks to make it to first base, it wasn’t as if the 23-year-old was on a biblical cold streak.

The Nationals have had to keep Nuñez on their active roster because they pried him away from the Miami Marlins with the No. 5 pick in the Rule 5 Draft this past December.

Nuñez was ranked as the No. 17 prospect in the Marlins’ farm system back in 2020 before climbing to No. 15 in 2021. He dropped to No. 18 in 2022, then No. 21 in 2023.

In 351 career minor league appearances, Nuñez was a .233 hitter with seven home runs, 106 RBI, 183 stolen bases and a .644 OPS. While he made sure to show off his signature defensive skills Wednesday, he did get caught stealing immediately after his momentous walk.

Nuñez averaged 116 walks per 162 games down in the minors, and that solid plate discipline certainly made an appearance Wednesday.

The Nationals went on to defeat the Diamondbacks 3-1, moving into a tie for the second NL Wild Card spot at 36-37. If Abrams remains out for Thursday, Washington may need Nuñez to step up again if they are to win the series and improve to .500.

Nuñez is still searching for his first career hit, after all, so maybe that next milestone could help lift the Nationals to a critical victory.

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