The Washington Nationals have hired a new manager.
Blake Butera has agreed to a deal to become the new manager of the Nationals, ESPN’s Jeff Passan reported on Thursday. At 33 years old, Butera will be one of the youngest managers in MLB history and the youngest in more than 50 years.
Butera is the youngest manager to be hired by an MLB team since Frank Quilici was promoted to manager of the Minnesota Twins midway through the 1972 season. Quilici was also 33 at the time.
The Nationals fired both former manager Dave Martinez and former general manager Mike Rizzo in July. Washington finished the year 66-96 and missed the playoffs for the sixth consecutive year. The last time the Nationals reached the postseason was in 2019, when they won the World Series by defeating the Houston Astros in seven games.
Butera was previously the director of senior player development with the Tampa Bay Rays. He played parts of two seasons in the minors with the Rays and was a manager in the team’s minor league system for four seasons. Butera had an overall record of 258-144 in the minors and won two league championships in his final two seasons with the Single-A Charleston RiverDogs.
The Nationals have been rebuilding since they won a championship six years ago, and they are hoping a young analytics-driven manager will help with that process.
