The Nationals are working to finalize a deal to name 33-year-old Blake Butera as their next manager, an out-of-the-box hiring of someone who never played or coached above Single-A but was highly regarded for his work leading the Rays’ much-touted player development system.

The expected hiring of Butera, which was confirmed by a source familiar with the decision, would make him Major League Baseball’s youngest manager since 1972, not to mention thrust a previously little-known figure in the sport into a high-profile job in the nation’s capital.

Unconventional as the move – which was first reported by ESPN’s Jeff Passan – may sound, Butera appears to align well with new president of baseball operations Paul Toboni. Well-versed in analytics and player development, Butera shares many of the qualities that made Toboni, 35, the choice of Nationals ownership to reshape the organization after 17 years under former general manager Mike Rizzo.

Butera has been employed by the Rays in one capacity or another since 2015, when the former infielder was selected in the 35th round of the MLB Draft out of Boston College. The Louisiana native played only two seasons of professional ball, never advancing beyond the short-season Single-A level, but he immediately went into coaching upon his retirement and spent the next decade working in a variety of roles for Tampa Bay.

By 2018, at the age of 25, Butera was named manager of the Hudson Valley Renegades and led that short-season Single-A club to the first of two consecutive first-place finishes in the New York-Penn League. He was promoted to manager of the low Single-A Charleston River Dogs in 2021 and led that team to back-to-back Carolina League titles, with an 88-44 record in 2022.