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Once the initial shock of Thursday’s news – They hired who? He’s how old? He’s never played or coached above what level? – wore off, the case for the Nationals’ hiring of Blake Butera as their new manager crystalized.
Yeah, he’s only 33 years old, but he’s already got an impressive background as a highly successful minor league manager and senior director of player development for the Rays. He and new president of baseball operations Paul Toboni appear to share many baseball philosophies, from analytics to helping turn young players into good big league players. He was viewed within the industry as a future star, so why not snag him now before his profile grew and another franchise claimed him instead?
"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 in officially announcing the hiring this morning. "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. He possesses a strong baseball acumen and has a reputation for building strong relationships with players and staff, making him a great fit for us in Washington, D.C."
There are a number of reasons Butera makes sense for the Nationals right now. Which doesn’t make his hiring any less of a gamble for Toboni and the Lerner family.
Let’s be clear: This is a huge gamble. He’s about to become the youngest manager in Major League Baseball since 1972. And it’s not like he’s a well-known former big league player who was given a managerial job with little experience like David Ross, Stephen Vogt or Kurt Suzuki. Nor does he make up for his lack of professional experience with a track record as head coach of an elite college program like Tony Vitello.
Butera arguably is as big an unknown as has managed in the major leagues in generations. Which means he faces challenges far beyond those faced by most first-time managers.
Most importantly, he has to win over a clubhouse of players who know little about him aside from the fact he’s never worked in an MLB clubhouse before. There will be understandable skepticism from Nationals players, even if most of them are still in their low-to-mid 20s. They’re supposed to immediately respect the words and actions of a 33-year-old who produced a .669 OPS in 80 total games as an infielder in rookie and low Single-A ball?
It's up to Butera to quickly prove to James Wood, Dylan Crews, CJ Abrams and Co. that he does in fact know what he’s talking about, that his four consecutive first place finishes and back-to-back Carolina League championships as a minor league manager were real achievements.
It’s up to Butera to prove he can help all those young players become better big leaguers through fundamentals, information, technology and hard work. And the same will apply to his eventual coaching staff, which you have to assume will feature at least a few people with major league experience to help not only the players but the manager who has never done this before.
When the games actually begin, it’ll be up to Butera to prove he can make the right X’s and O’s decisions, from pulling a starting pitcher at the right moment to calling for a stolen base in the proper situation to selecting the correct reliever for key at-bats in the late innings. Like his young players, can he slow the game down in his mind and stay on top of every potential scenario before it rushes past him?
"I’d like to thank the Lerner, Cohen and Tanenbaum families, as well as Paul Toboni, for the opportunity and for the trust they are placing in me," Butera said in a statement released by the club. "This franchise has a proud history, a passionate fan base and a standard of excellence that I deeply respect. 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."
There is reason to wonder, though, how much autonomy Butera will have to make many of the decisions that are part of a big league manager’s daily life. In this new era of analytics-minded baseball, more and more front offices are making out optimal lineup cards, dictating how many batters a starting pitcher should face and which relievers should be facing which hitters. We don’t know for sure if that’s how the new Nationals will operate, but it wouldn’t be surprising at all if Toboni is far more hands-on than Mike Rizzo was in this regard and that Butera’s primary job will be implementing the front office’s vision on the field as opposed to calling the shots himself.
Which isn’t necessarily a bad thing. The Nationals could use some more cohesiveness as an organization, and Toboni spoke in those terms during his introductory press conference earlier this month.
"You win with people," he said. "And if we are going to achieve that, we want people who carry themselves with joy, that through the ups and the downs maintain a really optimistic attitude."
We will find out soon how Butera fits into that mold when he’s formally introduced as the eighth full-time manager in Nationals history. He bears little resemblance to any of the seven men who have previously held the role. But he clearly fit the description of what Toboni was looking for in a manager, and ownership agreed.
Butera will initially be known as "the youngest major league manager in 53 years." It’s up to him to be remembered as much more than that by the time his term here is complete.
Note: The Nationals announced veteran catcher Jorge Alfaro cleared outright waivers and elected to become a free agent.
Alfaro, 32, joined the Nats in September after Drew Millas suffered a season-ending injury and spent that final month serving as Riley Adams' backup behind the plate, his first stretch in the big leagues since 2023. In 14 games with the Nats, he hit .253 with two doubles, three RBIs, striking out 14 times without drawing a walk. He threw out one of six basestealers.
