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.

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.

PLAYER REVIEW: CLAYTON BEETER

Age on Opening Day 2026: 27

How acquired: Traded with Browm Martinez from Yankees for Amed Rosario, July 2025

MLB service time: 129 days

2025 salary: $763,325

The Nationals began the process of trimming down their 40-man roster for the start of the offseason this evening, announcing four players cleared outright waivers in Paul Toboni’s first official transactions since being named president of baseball operations.

Right-handers Eduardo Salazar and Mason Thompson, left-hander Shinnosuke Ogasawara and catcher CJ Stubbs were dropped from the 40-man roster, with Ogasawara and Stubbs assigned outright to Triple-A Rochester. Salazar and Thompson refused their outright assignments and instead declared for free agency, leaving the organization in the process.

All major league clubs must activate players who ended the season on the injured list following the World Series, and typically that requires some other maneuvering to make sure they do not exceed the 40-man roster limit for the offseason. Today’s moves leave the Nationals with 36 active players, plus four more under club control who ended the year on the 60-day IL: Josiah Gray, DJ Herz, Drew Millas and Trevor Williams. (Derek Law also was on the 60-day IL, but he’s set to become a free agent after the World Series and will automatically come off the roster.)

Thompson also ended the season on the IL with right biceps tendinitis, a frustrating conclusion to a frustrating season for the 27-year-old reliever, who in his return from his second Tommy John surgery produced an 11.81 ERA and 2.625 WHIP in 14 big league appearances. Originally acquired from the Padres for Daniel Hudson in one of former general manager Mike Rizzo’s flurry of 2021 trade deadline deals, Thompson ends his Nationals tenure with a 7-9 record, 5.27 ERA and 1.640 WHIP in 116 games.

Salazar, a waiver claim from the Mariners during the 2024 season, showed initial promise with a 2.96 ERA in 25 appearances but struggled this season to the tune of an 8.38 ERA in 30 games while bouncing back and forth between D.C. and Rochester.

PLAYER REVIEW: JACKSON RUTLEDGE

Age on Opening Day 2026: 26

How acquired: First round pick, 2019 MLB Draft

MLB service time: 1 year, 25 days

2025 salary: $760,000

PLAYER REVIEW: COLE HENRY

Age on Opening Day 2026: 26

How acquired: Second round pick, 2020 MLB Draft

MLB service time: 169 days

2025 salary: $760,000

PLAYER REVIEW: JOSE A. FERRER

Age on Opening Day 2026: 26

How acquired: Signed as international free agent, July 2017

MLB service time: 2 years, 94 days

2025 salary: $765,400

PLAYER REVIEW: SHINNOSUKE OGASAWARA

Age on Opening Day 2026: 28

How acquired: Signed as international free agent, January 2025

MLB service time: 66 days

2025 salary: $1.5 million

PLAYER REVIEW: ANDREW ALVAREZ

Age on Opening Day 2026: 26

How acquired: 12th-round pick, 2021 MLB Draft

MLB service time: 28 days

2025 salary: $760,000

PLAYER REVIEW: MITCHELL PARKER

Age on Opening Day 2026: 26

How acquired: Fifth round pick, 2020 MLB Draft

MLB service time: 2 years

2025 salary: $767,200

PLAYER REVIEW: CADE CAVALLI

Age on Opening Day 2026: 27

How acquired: First round pick, 2020 MLB Draft

MLB service time: 2 years, 141 days

2025 salary: $760,200

Despite his sluggish second half, James Wood’s total production this season still earned him recognition as one of the best hitters in baseball.

Wood today was named a finalist for the Silver Slugger Award, one of six National League outfielders in the running for the honor. Three winners will be named Nov. 6, along with the winners for each of the league’s other positions.

Joining Wood on the list of finalists are the Diamondbacks’ Corbin Carroll, the Cubs’ Pete Crow-Armstrong, the Mets’ Juan Soto, the Marlins’ Kyle Stowers and the Cubs’ Kyle Tucker.

Wood finished the season with 38 doubles, 31 home runs, 94 RBIs, a .256 batting average, .350 on-base percentage and .475 slugging percentage, plus 15 stolen bases. Among NL outfielders, the 23-year-old ranked in the top three in doubles, homers and extra-base hits.

It was a dynamic first half of the season, though, that put Wood in a position to finish with those numbers and earned him the first All-Star nod and Home Run Derby invitation of his young career. He entered the break with a .278/.381/.534 slash line, 24 homers and 69 RBIs, then slashed .223/.301/.388 with seven homers and 25 RBIs after that.

PLAYER REVIEW: BRAD LORD

Age on Opening Day 2026: 26

How acquired: 18th round pick, 2022 MLB Draft

MLB service time: 1 year

2025 salary: $760,000

PLAYER REVIEW: JAKE IRVIN

Age on Opening Day 2026: 29

How acquired: Fourth round pick, 2018 MLB Draft

MLB service time: 2 years, 152 days

2025 salary: $774,600

PLAYER REVIEW: MACKENZIE GORE

Age on Opening Day 2026: 27

How acquired: Traded with CJ Abrams, James Wood, Robert Hassell III, Jarlin Susana and Luke Voit from Padres for Juan Soto and Josh Bell, August 2022

MLB service time: 4 years

2025 salary: $2.89 million

PLAYER REVIEW: DREW MILLAS

Age on Opening Day 2026: 28

How acquired: Traded with Richard Guasch and Seth Shuman from Athletics for Yan Gomes and Josh Harrison, July 2021

MLB service time: 178 days

2025 salary: $760,000

PLAYER REVIEW: PAUL DeJONG

Age on Opening Day 2026: 32

How acquired: Signed as free agent, February 2025

MLB service time: 8 years, 57 days

2025 salary: $1 million

PLAYER REVIEW: NASIM NUNEZ

Age on Opening Day 2026: 25

How acquired: Selected in 2023 Rule 5 Draft

MLB service time: 1 year, 89 days

2025 salary: $760,000

PLAYER REVIEW: BRADY HOUSE

Age on Opening Day 2026: 22

How acquired: First round pick, 2021 Draft

MLB service time: 107 days

2025 salary: $760,000

Jacob Young gets a second crack at becoming only the third Gold Glove Award winner in Nationals history.

Young was named a finalist for the award this morning, one of three competing to be honored as the best defensive center fielder in the National League. He’s joined by the Cubs’ Pete Crow-Armstrong and the Cardinals’ Victor Scott II.

The winner will be announced Nov. 3.

It’s the second straight year Young has been named a Gold Glove finalist. Though he seemed to have a stronger statistical case for the award in 2024, he ultimately lost out to the Rockies’ Brenton Doyle.

Young’s case this season isn’t quite as concrete. He was one of only three regular major league position players with a 1.000 fielding percentage. But he ranked second to Crow-Armstrong in FanGraphs’ overall Defensive Rating (17.7 to 12.3) and Defensive Runs Saved (15 to 13). And he ranked third to both Crow-Armstrong and Scott in Statcast’s Outs Above Average (24 to 16 to 14) and Runs Prevented (22 to 14 to 13).