The Washington Nationals are finalizing a deal to hire 33-year-old Blake Butera as manager, according to a person with knowledge of the situation.
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The person spoke to The Associated Press on Thursday on condition of anonymity because nothing had been announced. The Nationals fired Dave Martinez in July, and Miguel Cairo took over on an interim basis.
Butera would be the youngest manager since Minnesota’s Frank Quilici in 1972, according to ESPN, which first reported Butera’s hiring.
The Minnesota Twins have also picked their new manager: former bench coach Derek Shelton, who managed the Pittsburgh Pirates for five-plus years.
The Twins made a formal announcement on Thursday and scheduled an introductory news conference for Shelton on Tuesday.
Atlanta, San Diego and Colorado remain uncertain about their managerial spots heading into the offseason. Texas hired Skip Schumaker, Baltimore went with Craig Albernaz, San Francisco pulled Tony Vitello from the college ranks, and the Angels picked Kurt Suzuki.
Butera was a senior director of player development in the Tampa Bay organization. He played two seasons in the Rays’ minor league system after being drafted in the 35th round out of Boston College in 2015. It did not take him long to go into managing.
He was a bench coach for short-season Hudson Valley in 2017, then was promoted to manager the following year, becoming the youngest skipper in minor league baseball at 25. He managed Hudson Valley for two seasons and Class A Charleston (2021-22) for two more.
Washington has had six straight losing seasons since Martinez managed them to the 2019 World Series title. The Nationals went 66-96 this year.
Shelton had an overall record of 306-440 with the Pirates before he was fired on May 8, just 40 games into this season. The 55-year-old was the bench coach for the Twins in 2018 and 2019 under two different managers, Paul Molitor and Rocco Baldelli. With the under-funded Pirates, Shelton never finished higher than fourth place in the NL Central or better than 76-86.
“We’ve seen firsthand the trust and respect he earns from players and how he helps them reach their best,” Twins President Derek Falvey said in a statement distributed by the team. “His journey, through both the successes and the tough stretches, has given him real perspective as a leader. That balance and his connection to what this place means to people will serve our players and staff well as we work to build something lasting for our fans and for Minnesota.”
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