Washington Nationals Coaching Staff Takes Shape: Michael Johns, Player Development & The Road Ahead

Washington Nationals Coaching Staff Takes Shape: Michael Johns, Player Development & The Road Ahead

The Nationals named Michael John’s is their new bench coach entering 2026 and he will be Blake Butra’s right-hand man. But also, did the Nationals make the correct decision not hiring a former manager? We’ll discuss that after this. You are Locked on Nationals, your daily Washington Nationals podcast, part of the Locked On podcast network, your team every day. And thank you all for making Lockdown Nationals your first listen every single day as we are free and available wherever you get your podcast. And yes, we are part of the Locked On podcast network where we are now the number one sports podcasting network where it is always your team every single day. And later on in today’s program, the NL Rookie of the Year was announced last night. Dale L did not win the award, but where did he finish and how and is it fair? We’ll discuss that later on in the program today. And in the second segment, there are some rumblings, I think, about a Key Barrowise trade. And I just want everyone to be prepared. I’ll tell you why you should be prepared for that discussion later on in today’s program. But we start off discussing the big big news out of the Washington Nationals as they have hired Michael John’s to be the right-hand man for Blake Butra and this Washington Nationals coaching staff. And I like this hire. I’ll tell you exactly why I like this hire. But today’s episode is brought to you by Game Time. Download the Game Time app. Create an account and use code locked on MLB for $20 off your first purchase. So, the Nationals made it official yesterday afternoon with Michael John’s being named the bench coach for Blake Butra. And I like this hire. I do like this hire, but we’ll have more of a discussion surrounding should the Nationals have gone with someone more experienced. But let me tell you why I like this before jumping into that. First and foremost, what are the organizations that the Nationals are hiring from? You got Paul Tabone from the Red Sox, successful player development organization, and now we have their main decision maker here in town with Paul Tabone. And then you get into player development and how teams coach up. you go nab one of the big player development guys with Blake Butra from the Tampa Bay Rays and then you take their first base coach from the Tampa Bay Rays that is Michael John’s and he is now your bench coach for the Washington Nationals. So just to get into a background of what Michael John’s and what he brings to this team, Michael John’s has been the first base coach for the Tampa Bay Rays over these past two seasons. But before that, in 2023, he was the man or actually, yes, in 2023, he was the manager for the AAA Durham Bulls in which he was the runner up and lost that championship series, but still had success back in 2023. He was also Tampa Bay’s minor league field coordinator for five seasons from 2018 all the way through 2022 having moved to that position after managing Single A Charlotte from 2015 to 2017 where he also won its only it won its only club championship back in 2015. This is someone who has a long long history not only in the Rays organization but even dating back to his days with the Singa Hudson Valley managing them in 2013 and rookie level Princeton from 2010 to 2012. He’s joined the college coaching ranks. He’s done it all in the past with here and now he’s with the Washington Nationals. I think that this is a hire that honestly just kind of gives the vibe that Blake Buter is comfortable with this guy. And again, Michael John’s has had experience in major league clubouses. He’s had experience in minor league clubouses, but really more importantly than that to me is that he has again a player development background. As soon as I heard that the Nationals hired a bench coach, the first thing I saw was hired from the Rays, that’s all I needed to know. When you get guys from good organizations like the Rays, the Red Sox, that’s kind of all I need to know. And you might be thinking like, “Oh, well that’s silly.” It is a little silly, but still, for where the Nationals are today, where do they need to catch up? They need to catch up in player development. You’ve addressed that with Paul Tabone and the rest of the front office hirings. And then number two, you have to catch up with coaching. You got Blake Butra, who comes from a minor league organization that has simply developed better than anybody. And in some may say may have the better coaching staff, not just in the major leagues with Kevin Cash at the helm, but also down in the minor leagues as well with how they develop and coach up their younger talent. Now you add another guy from that organization with Michael John’s who has the ability to help coach your infielders. I mean, there’s been a lot of rumors about him helping defensively with the Tampa Bay Rays, but also with base running and how he’s a really smart mind around that. This is a really good hire for a team that needs to be coached up. And I’ve said it time and time again. I think the Nationals right now, what they need most is player development. But secondly, I also think they need to be coached up. This is a young team that is hopefully going to grow these next few seasons. And in some cases, I may have just said in the past like coaching doesn’t really happen up in the major league level anymore. And it kind of does, but also kind of doesn’t. Like these players know what to do. They knew how to get out of their slumps. Does having someone who can kind of instruct you to get out of that help? Absolutely. And so having guys come from good organizations with good coaching backgrounds, you can get me to sign up for that any single day of the week. Now, in this hiring process and as soon as the Nationals did hire Blake But I did say that I wanted and quite frankly needed the Washington Nationals to go out there and hire someone like a Brandon Hyde or Roco Baldelli and I wanted them to go out and hire them as one of their bench coaches. I wanted a former manager inside this clubhouse. Now, Michael John’s is not a former major league manager, but I do think with his rich experience in the minors, but also up in the majors these past two seasons, this is obviously someone who in my mind will be plucked and will be a manager someday. Just following and reading the tea leaves here, the way that the Nationals have really just kind of addressed this organization from top to bottom is they have got like these future prospects. If the Nationals were a farm system as far as their front office goes and right now with their coaching staff, I would say they have a very good farm system, like you’ve got a lot of coaching talent, a lot of potential GMs in the building now and young guys who are going to help this team hopefully win for the next decade here in DC. But you have got some really good hires. And yes, while the Nationals did not go out and hire that Roco Beli or a Brandon Hyde, I don’t think it’s the end of the world. And even then, the Nationals could absolutely still nab one of those guys. If you really wanted to, you could make Brandon Hyde, let’s say, your first base coach. You can make Rock Beli your first or third base coach. You can name one of those guys your first base coach, third base coach, whatever it is. or maybe somewhere on the staff, maybe an assistant to the manager, whatever it could be. The Nationals are not just done hiring the staff. You still have to hire a hitting coordinator. You still have to hire a pitching coordinator. You still have to do all the different things and fill out this staff. And the Nationals could easily make room for someone who was a former manager. I still think that that is not a necessity. It’s more of a want at this point. You might say there and say, “Well, they have no experience on this staff and Michael John’s has only been up in the majors for two years now.” You’re right. But also, I think I may overlook the idea of just him being a manager down in the minors or coaching down in the minors. Like, does experience really matter that much? I don’t know at this point. I guess we’ll just have to find out in 2026. But the Nationals went out of the dark and they hired Dave Martinez back in 2018. worked pretty okay. They won the World Series in 2019. Was not a former manager. Didn’t really have anyone on their staff that was a former manager. Like, this was a team that was pretty raw as far as coaches go and it went okay for them. So, I’m not willing to say like, “Oh, this is not going to work out.” Now, I like this hire. I think that again, if you’re hiring from the White Socks, I’d probably have questions. I’d be like, “Well, why are we doing this? What exactly does this bring to the table right now?” But that’s not what this is. You are getting someone from a good well-known organization. And as we have mentioned, he had some big ties and not just their coaching, but also their front office and the way that he helped with player development. And this is actually what Blake Butra had to say. Quote, “Michael shares the same values that are important to me and to our organization. He’s humble, has an incredible work ethic, and his preparation and attention to detail are unmatched. He played a major role in building Tampa Bay’s player development system and brings valuable recent major league experience. More than anything, I know he’ll do everything he can to help our players, staff, and organization succeed. So, obviously, you’re not going to say anything bad about him. This is who Blake Bouter and Paul Deon just hired. But those are some really good words from your new Nationals manager. And seeing Michael John’s on this staff, obviously, they have a relationship. Obviously, they know each other very well. And I think that right now I’m not going to sit here and say, “Well, you probably should have gotten Brandon Hyde or Roco Beli.” Number one, those guys would have to want to come here. Number two, this is obviously a good hire. Someone who again has a coaching background, has a player development background, was key in the the Rays player development system there. That is a big deal to me. you’re addressing some of your biggest needs this off season and it really starts right there. So for the Nationals hiring and making this final decision with have Michael John’s as your bench coach, I’m all on board for this. I would like to see some experience, some major league experience in this coaching staff eventually. You’ve got plenty more roles to hire. I certainly think that you will see a couple of guys come from other organizations who have been a manager who have been in the big leagues for years. You will see experience on this roster, but right now you’ve got your two main guys who will be in that clubhouse. It’s going to be Michael John’s your bench coach and obviously your 33-year-old manager is going to be Blake who will be running this operation. So, we will have a lot more on this and of course on tomorrow’s program, we will discuss some of the pitching and hitting coaches needs. So, stay tuned on tomorrow’s locked on nationals. But next, I saw a rumbling, a rumor, I guess you could say, of Karise. And yes, it sounds as if that nationals could be motivated to move Kowise. Let’s talk about that because that’s really interesting. NFL season is back and honestly there is nothing better than being in the stadium surrounded by fans cheering on your team. But let’s be honest, getting tickets can be a hassle and between cues, login screens, and prices, jumping at checkout. It’s frustrating and that is why I use Game Time. The app that gives you the advantage back to fans and game time is fast, easy, and backed by the game time guarantee. You’ll always get 100% authentic tickets delivered on time and at the best price. Plus, all fees are included. So, the price you see is the price you pay. I pulled up Game Time and in just a couple of taps, I saw amazing deals. I’m talking about your favorite NFL games as low as $100. And just a few hours before kickoff this past weekend with the Commanders taking on the Lions, I saw tickets as cheap as $70. Flash zone deals. And of course, you get to see the image of your seat before you even buy it. Honestly, it’s so much faster and cheaper and less stressful than any other way that I have bought tickets. So, you can do that, too. And download the Game Time app. Create an account and use code lockon MLB for $20 off your first purchase. Terms do apply. Again, that’s promo code Loc MLB for $20 off. Swipe, tap, ticket, go. Download Game Time today. And yes, the Washington Nationals, they have made it official with their bench coach, Michael John’s, but they have made this unofficial, I guess, that they are interested in trading Kowiz. And the exact wording of this report was from Bob Nightingale. He said, “The Nationals are motivated to move Kowiz.” My reaction, of course, they are. Of course, the Nationals are motivated to move Kberuise. Listen, we have talked about this. You can go back a few weeks ago. I said that one of the biggest Nationals needs this off season is addressing the catcher position. Whether it be by trade, whether it be in free agency, whether it be even Drew Millis being named your starting catcher going into 2026, but the Nationals being quote unquote motivated to move Keise, duh, of course they are. I like Ki Barise. I was all for him getting that extension back in 2023 or 2024, whichever year that it was. I like that move. I thought it was a smart decision. It finally felt as if this ownership was getting back into it and they were keeping their homegrown talent here in DC and I was all for it. As we know now, Kar Ruiz is the worst defensive catcher in baseball. He might be one of the worst offensive catchers in baseball as well. Yes. Why would you not be motivated to move off and trade one of the worst players at their position for someone who is under contract until what 2030 at this point? Like of course they are. Of course the Nationals want to move off him. Like when I saw this report I’m not saying that like oh this is so stupid. Like yes trade him right now. Like if you can find a trade partner, then Paul Tabone can wave his magic wand and turn my microphone into a tree if he wanted to. That’s the kind of deal that we are talking about. So having Karuise, listen, he signed an eight-year $50 million extension just a few years ago. He’s got he is locked up on this deal until 2030. Now here’s the good thing for the Nationals. If you can’t move him, if you cannot trade him, you’re only paying him like $5 million this season in 2026. You’re paying him 5.3 in 27, then it’s 7.3 in 28, and then it’s 9.3 in 2029, and it’s 9.3 in 2030. I mean, as far as free agency goes, you’re not going to get a better deal than that. And if you’re going to hold on to someone, like this is not like Chris Davis bad contract here. It’s not a good contract by any means, but it’s also not a bad one. It is such a cheap deal that this does not hurt the Nationals whatsoever. Even if you do decide to trade him, what honestly you could do is just buy him out at this point. Move on from him, pay him the money. It’s I mean, it’s easy for me to say, but it’s not that much money to be paid off here. Like as soon as I saw this report, first and foremost, should the Nationals be trying to move him? Absolutely. But you’re not going to get back anything in return. If the Nationals were to get back a somewhat decent prospect, kudos to Paul Tabone. I don’t know if there is any metric right now in baseball that is in Keoise’s favor. I am ready to move off of this. It’s no longer a project. Like we have had the time and unfortunately for him, he has obviously had injuries. This year being the concussion, a few years ago being hit in the groin area. Like he has had some really unfortunate luck here. And that is a really bad thing with that. But also that kind of goes into the player evaluation here. When he is healthy, he’s not consistent enough. when he is healthy, he actually has regressed defensively. Like there are some real flaws within Kebe Ruiz’s game where I don’t think that Paul Tabone and the player development system here can just say, “Oh, you got to make this tweak. That’s it.” It’s going to be a lot more complicated than that. He is not a good framer. He’s one of the worst framers in all of baseball. He allows a ton of pass balls. He does he is not the best blocker. He does not have the best arm. like he is not great defense or offensively speaking. He was supposed to hit for power. He has not been a power hitter consistently. Like there are a lot of flaws in his game. And if the Nationals do want to move off him, yes, of course they do. Of course they’re going to be motivated to move off Keuise. But that’s also not just the end of this story. Like they need catching help. And I think that right now I think a lot of Nationals fans have really kind of honed in on this. They need catching help in a big way. Like you drafted Caleb Lovita last year. He seems like a good prospect, but is he really going to be the guy that you count on moving forward? I’m not convinced of it. I would not be surprised, especially with the way that the catcher market is right now. If the Nationals are looking to make trades via that catcher market, maybe you try to get a younger prospect from an organization like let’s say a Harry Ford from the Mariners. If you can swing a deal like that, maybe give up McKenzie Gore and you get Harry Ford back and maybe even another piece. Sign me up for that immediately. You need catching help. And not only that, you need catcher depth in this system. As we have seen, the Nationals have had a ton of injuries to their catchers as of recent. You saw someone that has really was a double A kind of player playing up for the Nationals this year. I forgot his name already at this point, but CJ Subs, that’s his name. Coming over from the Astros, batted like 170 in the Miners, was not very good defensively speaking. And he actually made starts up with the Nationals this season. Like they were gutted from the position. Drew Millis had a finger injury. Keise had what he was dealing with. Riley Adams had an injury was on the shelf there. Like this was a real thing for the Nationals. And right now you don’t have the catcher depth in your system to really kind of back up some of these major league guys. They need to get back into that. And if you’re talking about Drew Millis being catcher depth in a system, that is a great option. Riley Adams is a second catcher might be an okay option. If Karise is your second catcher up in the majors, that’s an okay option as well. But they need to address this catcher position right now. If it starts with trading Kuise, I don’t know who’s going to be out there saying no to it in this Nationals fan base. I don’t know anyone in the organization that will say no to trading him at this point. But that is a move that the Nationals should absolutely be trying to workshop. And if I’m Paul Tabone, I am calling up all 29 other executives and I’m saying, “Do you want keys?” And if they say yes, we say, “Okay, give us what you want. You can have them.” That’s kind of the talk that we’re having at this point. So, are they motivated to move keys? Yes, of course they’re motivated to move keys. Am I motivated to lose weight? Yes, of course I’m motivated to lose weight. Am I motivated to eat healthy all day today? Yes, I’m motivated to eat healthy all day. Does that mean that they will do that? No. Does that mean that I will eat healthy and lose weight? No. That’s kind of where the Nationals are at this point. So when I saw that rumor, I was just kind of like, yeah, that’s how things go when you’re trying to move off to some guys who may be a little long in the tooth at this point. But thank you all for making Lockdown Nats your first listen. Next, I do want to get into this. The National League Rookie of the Year was announced just last night and it was pretty interesting because where did Nationals Denon Lyle finish in the conversation and if he played a full year, where would he have ranked? I’ll tell you all of that after this. The NBA is back and there is no better place to get in on the action than FanDuel, the official sports betting partner of the NBA. 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We are part of the Locked On podcast network where we are now the number one sports podcasting network in the business. That is a big deal here. And of course, thank you all to Locked On Nationals listeners. You guys have been a big part of that as well. Now again the number one sports podcast network. So Michael, not Michael, say Michael John’s, the National’s new bench coach. We just discussed that. But now we got to talk about Nationals rookie Dale Mile and where he finished in this NL Rookie of the Year race. Well, he finished fifth in the NL Rookie of the Year race. You saw Drake Baldwin finished first. Kade Hort Kate Horton for the Chicago Cubs. Darbin from the Brewers. Collins from the Brewers as well. And that is exactly how the list went. Now, Dalon Wild did actually receive one third place vote. And it really came down to this. Denon Wild did not play enough games this season because if you stack up the numbers of Isaac Collins and Caleb Durban and Cade Horton and Drake Baldwin, like Dalen L’s offensive numbers, we’re not that far off. Now, the defensive numbers a little far off. Dale L does have to improve a little defensively in right field here, but this is still someone who again, this is a potential star for the Nationals. I mean, we have not talked about the impact of Paul Demon and the hiring and Blake Buta and the hiring and how it could really help some guys on the major league roster. Dale Mile is one of those guys. He has got the potential to hit for power. He’s got the speed threat. He could be really good defensively in my mind. He’s got to make some tweaks there and he’s got an okay harm that we have seen. Like there is a lot to work there. So seeing Dale Mile not finish in the top three for the NL Rookie of the Year conversation. I mean I guess it was expected. Could you have made a case for him finishing inside the top three? Absolutely. Like in my opinion if this was a most valuable conversation like what are we really getting to? Was it just a full season best rookie? Then yeah, I guess it was Drake Baldwin. But if you really get into who was most valuable for this team, it’s probably Drake uh Dalon Lyle at this point. I was going to say Drake May, but Denon Lyle. Dalen Lyle and the value that he had for the Nationals. That was a huge jump for this Nats team in the second half. And as we saw when he was sent down for the first time at Triple A, there were some people saying like, I don’t really know if this guy’s going to be any good. I don’t know how consistent he can be up in the major league level. But as soon as he got back up for the second stint, he was a completely different ball player and he made some tweaks within his swing and that is when he absolutely took off and skyrocketed in the second half. This is someone who in my mind should have been in a better spot to finish out inside the top three in my op I watch this guy every single day. But number two in the second half the season there was no better rookie in the game outside or at least in the National League speaking. Dalon Ly was in that conversation and there was a real push at the end of the year for him winning the NL Rookie of the Year award. So seeing him finish fifth, it’s like, okay, that’s just a lack of playing time. If he finished a full season though, played 162, he would absolutely be in the conversation for winning the NL Rookie of the Year award. And now looking back at this time last year, you know, we were all saying that the Nationals would have a Rookie of the Year candidate with Dylan Cruz. He was the odds on favorite to win it. And obviously that did not happen. injuries happened this season for Dylan Cruz, but to see Don Wild finished in the top five, you gotta feel good about that for Nationals fans because they have got some good young pieces. Dylan Cruz may not have shown you too much this year, but I do feel good about where things are going for the Nationals. So, Don Ly finished fifth in the NL Rookie of the Year conversation. Does that feel fair? It does, considering the lack of playing time, but still, I really like what the Nationals have with him moving forward. And we can talk about more about Don Wild on tomorrow’s show, but also I want to get into the pitching and the hidden coaches and what could be coming and who are some names that the Nationals could watch. We’ll discuss that on tomorrow’s Locked on Nationals. But until then, have a good one and go Nats.

The Washington Nationals have named Michael Johns as their new bench coach for 2026, bringing another Tampa Bay Rays veteran to the organization. Johns, who served as the Rays’ first base coach for two seasons and managed their AAA affiliate, brings extensive player development experience that aligns with the team’s rebuilding strategy. The hire complements manager Blake Butera’s vision, though questions remain about whether the staff needs a former major league manager. Meanwhile, reports suggest the Nationals are motivated to trade catcher Keibert Ruiz, whose defensive struggles have made him one of baseball’s worst at the position despite a team-friendly contract through 2030. Additionally, rookie Daylen Lile finished fifth in NL Rookie of the Year voting, with limited playing time preventing a stronger showing despite his impressive second-half performance.

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0:00 Intro

0:44 Michael Johns Named Nationals Bench Coach

2:16 Johns’ Background with Tampa Bay Rays

4:18 Why This Hire Makes Sense Now

6:50 Should Nationals Have Hired a Former Manager?

9:54 Blake Butera’s Comments on Johns Hire

15:31 Ruiz’s Contract and Trade Value Discussion

18:34 Nationals Need Major Catching Help

24:41 Lile’s Value Despite Limited Playing Time