The Washington Nationals intend to hire Blake Butera as their new manager, according to ESPN. Butera, at just 33, will become the youngest skipper in the majors since 1972. Frank Quilici was also 33 in his first season as head coach of the Minnesota Twins, 53 years ago. Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol, 39, was the youngest manager in MLB in 2025.
Butera, who has served in various coaching and development roles for the Tampa Bay Rays organization, comes from a baseball family: his father Barry Sr. played for the Boston Red Sox system from 1977 to 1980 and his brother Barry Jr. was in the Houston Astros system from 2009 to 2010. Blake himself was drafted in the 35th round in 2015. He participated in some parts of two minor league seasons, hitting .235/.342/.327 before moving to the coaching side. Clearly, this career decision paid off.
Earlier this summer, the Nationals fired longtime executive Mike Rizzo and field manager Davey Martinez. The Nationals have since replaced Rizzo with former Boston Red Sox executive Paul Toboni. Butera will now attempt to return the Nationals to a competitive state for the first time since their 2019 World Series victory.
The Nationals have some promising players on their roster, including outfielder James Wood, left-hander MacKenzie Gore and shortstop CJ Abrams. They also have some young guys, like former No. 2 pick Dylan Crews, who have yet to establish themselves at the big league level. The Natonals were selected No. 1 overall over the summer, taking Oklahoma prep shortstop Eli Willits.
The Nationals are coming off a 66-96 season that saw them finish last in the National League East, 30 games behind the Philadelphia Phillies.
