MLB News: The Nationals are reportedly hiring 33-year-old Blake Butera as their next manager
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The Washington Nationals are set to step outside the box with their reported managerial hiring.
The team will name 33-year-old Blake Butera as its new captain, according to multiple reports. Butera will become the youngest person to coach in the major leagues since 1972.
Frank Quilici was also 33 years old in his first season as manager of the Minnesota Twins.
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Hudson Valley Renegades head coach Blake Butera posts the lineup before Wednesday’s game at Dutchess Stadium in Fishkill on July 10, 2019. (Patrick Ohler/Poughkeepsie Journal via Imagn Content)
Butera was previously the senior director of player development for the Tampa Bay Rays. He was hired for the role in October 2023 after spending four seasons coaching the minor leagues.
In his first season as a coach in the minor leagues, he was just 25 years old. During those four seasons, he had a 258-144 record with four first-place finishes. In Butera’s final two seasons at the helm of Charleston, he won the league championship and went 170-82.
Butera moved into coaching after spending two seasons as a player in the Rays’ minor league system. During his two seasons in the minors, his batting average was .235.
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Blake Butera (10) of Team Italy poses for a photo during Team Italy snapshots of the 2023 World Baseball Classic at Taichung Intercontinental Baseball Stadium in Taichung, Taiwan, on March 4, 2023. (Photo by Mary DiCicco/WBCI/MLB via Getty Images)
He was drafted out of Boston College in the 35th round of the 2015 draft. Butera played four seasons at BC and was a team captain.
The Nationals fired manager Davey Martinez and general manager Mike Rizzo in July. The duo helped lead the franchise to a World Series title in 2019.
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Hudson Valley Renegades manager Blake Butera at Dutchess Stadium in Wappingers Falls, New York, on June 12, 2019. (Patrick Ohler/Poughkeepsie Magazine via IMAGN)
Martinez posted a 500-622 record during nearly eight seasons at the helm. Interim manager Miguel Cairo scored 29-43 after Martinez’s dismissal.
The Nationals hired former Boston Red Sox general manager Paul Toboni in September to replace Rizzo. They hope the combination of Toboni and Butera will help get the Nationals back to the World Series.
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