Nationals hire Blake Butera, 33, as manager

The Washington Nationals have hired Blake Butera as manager, the team announced Friday, making him the youngest person to hold the job in the majors in more than half a century.

At 33 years old, Butera will be Major League Baseball’s youngest manager since the Minnesota Twins hired Frank Quilici in 1972, according to ESPN Insights.

With their rebuild since a 2019 World Series win stalled, the Nationals fired general manager Mike Rizzo and manager Dave Martinez in July. Former Boston Red Sox assistant general manager Paul Toboni was hired in late September as president of baseball operations to replace Rizzo, and Washington’s search for a manager landed on an unlikely candidate in Butera.

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“This franchise has a proud history, a passionate fanbase and a standard of excellence that I deeply respect,” Butera said in a statement. “My family and I are fortunate to be part of it. I’m excited to get to work alongside our players, coaches and staff to build something special — a team that is rooted in trust, connection and competitiveness. We want to represent this city and our fans in a way they can be proud of, and we’re ready to get started.”

Previously the senior player development director for the Tampa Bay Rays, Butera has managed four minor league seasons — the first at 25 years old — and compiled a 258-144 record with four first-place finishes. In his final two seasons with Low-A Charleston, Butera’s teams went 170-82 and won league championships.

Butera’s experience extends beyond the Rays, who drafted him in the 35th round in 2015 out of Boston College, where he played four years and served as team captain. He played two seasons in Tampa Bay’s minor league system before transitioning to coaching and spent a year as quality-control coach for Leones del Escogido in the Dominican Winter League as well as bench coach for Team Italy in the 2023 World Baseball Classic.

With fluency in advanced metrics and the detail-oriented approach that has made Rays employees coveted by other teams, Butera was regarded in the industry as a future manager. His combination of managerial and player-development experience appealed to the Nationals, whose hiring of Toboni, 35, gave them the youngest head of baseball operations as well.

“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 statement. “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.”

Washington’s path back to relevance in the loaded National League East is expected to take years. While the Nationals have a franchise-caliber player in outfielder James Wood, teams plan to inquire about their willingness to trade left-hander MacKenzie Gore, who is two years from reaching free agency, and shortstop CJ Abrams, who will hit the open market after the 2028 season.

The Nationals’ farm system was ranked 22nd in MLB by ESPN’s Kiley McDaniel following the selection of Oklahoma prep shortstop Eli Willits with the No. 1 pick in the 2025 draft. Washington’s top pitching prospect, Travis Sykora, underwent Tommy John surgery in July and is expected to miss most of the 2026 season.

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