Blue Jays manager says pitcher Yesavage is raising ceiling for team
Schneider hails Yesavage’s impact after dominant performance puts Blue Jays on brink of title.
The Washington Nationals are moving forward with a deal to bring Blake Butera as their next manager, first reported by Jeff Passan of ESPN.
At 33 years old, Butera will become the youngest manager in MLB in over 50 years. He will be the youngest hire since the Minnesota Twins brought on Frank Quilici in 1972.
Butera obtained his first managerial position at the age of 25 in 2018 with the Tampa Bay organization and has held various roles within the organization since then. Most recently, during his tenure with the Rays, Butera served as the senior director of player development after spending one year as an assistant field coordinator.
The Nationals have been searching for a new manager after separating from Dave Martinez and president of baseball operations Mike Rizzo in July. Rizzo and Martinez led the team to a World Series victory in 2019; however, the Nationals have not finished higher than fourth place in their division since that achievement.
Here are five things to know about Butera.
Five things to know about Blake Butera1. Butera played college baseball at Boston College
Blake Butera played college baseball at Boston College from 2012 to 2015. As a senior and team captian, he was named to the New England Intercollegiate Baseball Association’s All-New England Third Team. In his final year, he participated in 49 games, making 48 starts at second base. He recorded a batting average of .284, along with 23 runs and 52 hits.
2. Drafted by the Tampa Bay Rays in 2015
Blake Butera was selected by the Tampa Bay Rays as the 1,048th pick in the 35th round of the 2015 Major League Baseball First-Year Players Draft. He played for two seasons in the minor leagues before transitioning into a coaching role.
3. Butera stats as a player for the Rays
Blake Butera played a total of 80 minor league games over two seasons with the Princeton Rays in the Appalachian League during 2015 and 2016. In 2015, he participated in 27 games for Princeton, and in 2016, he played in 53 games. Additionally, in 2016, Butera also appeared in four games for the Hudson Valley Renegades in the New York-Penn League.
4. Butera becomes youngest Minor League Baseball manager in 2018
In 2018, Blake Butera became the youngest manager in Minor League Baseball at the age of 25 when he was appointed as the manager of the Hudson Valley Renegades, a short-season Single-A affiliate. He later managed the Charleston RiverDogs, leading the team to consecutive league titles in 2021 and 2022.
5. Butera becomes the youngest manager in the MLB since 1972
Once the deal with the Washington Nationals is finalized, Blake Butera will become the youngest MLB manager in more than 50 years. The last manager appointed at a younger age was Frank Quilici, who took the helm of the Minnesota Twins in 1972 at the age of 33. This will make Butera the youngest manager in Major League Baseball since Quilici.