Just weeks after hiring Red Sox assistant GM Paul Toboni as their new president of baseball operations — thus making the 35-year-old the youngest front office leader in MLB — the Nationals announced the hiring of 33-year-old Blake Butera as their new manager. Butera had spent the past two seasons as the Rays’ senior director of player development. Like Toboni, he’s the youngest in the sport at his position.
“I’ve always believed that you win with people, and from our very first conversation, it was clear that Blake is the right person and the right leader for this role,” Toboni said in a press release. “Blake comes into this position with experience in a variety of roles in player development, including as a successful manager, making him uniquely qualified to get the most out of the players in the clubhouse and help us reach the next level. He possesses a strong baseball acumen and has a reputation for building strong relationships with players and staff, making him a great fit for us in Washington, D.C. We’re so excited to welcome him to the Nationals family.”
Butera, who’s already spent four years as a minor league skipper, will be the youngest manager since Frank Quilici in 1972. It’s been a theme for the former Rays farmhand. After a couple of seasons as an infielder in the low minors, he moved to the coaching side, taking over as skipper of High-A Hudson Valley in 2018. At 25 years old, Butera was the youngest manager in organized baseball that season, per Baseball Reference.
After two seasons with Hudson Valley, Butera became the manager of Single-A Charleston. After winning a league title in 2021, he was named Low-A East Manager of the Year. Tampa Bay promoted Butera to Minor League Assistant Field Coordinator in 2023.
Butera also has coaching experience at the international level. He worked for the Perth Heat in the Australian Baseball League from 2019 to 2020. He served as a quality control coach with Leones del Escogido in the Dominican League in 2021. Butera was also a bench coach for Italy in the 2023 World Baseball Classic.
Washington fired manager Dave Martinez in July. He had been at the helm since 2018. Martinez won a World Series with the team in 2019, but the team had struggled since then. The Nationals had lost 90+ games in four straight seasons heading into 2025. They were 37-53 when Martinez was dismissed.
Bench coach Miguel Cairo took over as interim manager. He was a candidate to take over full-time in 2026, but was removed from consideration earlier this week. Cairo, Brandon Hyde, and Craig Albernaz were the only three candidates known to have interviewed for Washington’s vacancy. Albernaz ended up landing the Baltimore job.
Washington also moved on from longtime president of baseball operations Mike Rizzo during the season. Assistant general manager Mike DeBartolo took over as interim general manager to close the year. The Nationals then hired former Red Sox assistant general manager Paul Toboni as their president of baseball operations in late September.
With Butera now installed in D.C., seven of the offseason’s incredible ten managerial vacancies have been filled. Colorado, San Diego, and Atlanta are still in the market for a new skipper. Minnesota (Derek Shelton), Baltimore (Albernaz), San Francisco (Tony Vitello), Texas (Skip Schumaker), and the Angels (Kurt Suzuki) have all filled the position this offseason.
ESPN’s Jeff Passan first reported that the Nationals had chosen Butera and were finalizing a contract.
