After filling two vacant spots on their coaching staff with in-house promotions, the Nationals are now filling a prime vacancy with a notable outside name.

Miguel Cairo will be Davey Martinez’s new bench coach, a source familiar with the decision confirmed, reuniting the former Tampa Bay teammates and giving Martinez another experienced voice in the dugout.

Cairo, 49, spent this season as the Mets minor league infield instructor, but he spent the previous two seasons as the White Sox bench coach, ultimately taking over as interim manager for several months while Tony La Russa dealt with a medical issue.

A veteran of 17 big league seasons with nine different organizations from 1996-2012, Cairo was a well-regarded utility infielder who played all around the diamond. He was still a young player when he and Martinez (then nearing the end of his career) were teammates with the then-Devil Rays from 1998-2000 and forged a friendship.

Martinez has spoken highly of Cairo in the past and lobbied for him to get the White Sox’s full-time managerial job after La Russa retired. Chicago instead hired Pedro Grifol for the position, leaving Cairo to find employment with the Mets instead.

PROSPECT REVIEW: ROISMAR QUINTANA

Age on opening day 2024: 21

How acquired: Signed as international free agent, July 2019

Ranking: No. 6 per MLB Pipeline, No. 14 per Baseball America

MLB ETA: 2025
* Projected by MLB Pipeline

Organizational prospect rankings are by nature ever-changing. Top prospects reach the big leagues and watch their careers take off. New draft picks join the list and leapfrog other established players. Some once-touted prospects lose their steam and disappear off the radar.

But it’s notable how much the Nationals’ prospect rankings have changed in the last two years, growing from one of the least-touted groups in baseball to one that is now turning a whole lot of heads.

And it’s not necessarily all the same names everyone assumed would top the list not that long ago.

Baseball America unveiled its 2024 Top 10 ranking Monday, and while most of the names include on the list come as no surprise, the order they are listed does include a few surprises.

Headlining the group is the newest member of the organization: Dylan Crews. As one would expect, the No. 2 overall pick in this summer’s draft immediately takes over as the No. 1 prospect in the Nationals organization. (He should be a top-10 prospect in the sport once that list is unveiled later this winter.)

The Nationals set their 40-man roster for the offseason as required by Major League Baseball this afternoon, activating five players who had been on the 60-day injured list (including Stephen Strasburg) and designating minor league reliever Matt Cronin for assignment to clear the spot needed to get the organization down to the correct number.

With 41 players under club control but only 40 slots available now through Opening Day, the Nats decided to drop Cronin, a 26-year-old lefty who looked like he would be a part of the team’s long-term plans entering this season but fell from grace following a rough season that ended in injury.

Cronin, a fourth-round pick in 2019, posted a 2.42 ERA and 1.096 WHIP in 48 games with Double-A Harrisburg and Triple-A Rochester in 2022. But he struggled to a 5.02 ERA and 1.884 WHIP this season in Rochester and had surgery in August for a herniated disc in his back.

Meanwhile, the emergence of Robert Garcia, Jose A. Ferrer and Joe La Sorsa this year left the Nationals with several left-handed options for next year’s bullpen, further making Cronin expendable.

If Cronin goes unclaimed, he could be outrighted to the minors and remain in the organization, albeit no longer a member of the 40-man roster.

The Washington Nationals today announced the start times for the team’s 2024 home games, highlighted by an earlier first pitch for evening contests. Evening games will now begin at 6:45 p.m., while the majority of day games will remain at 1:05 p.m., 1:35 p.m. or 4:05 p.m. The Nationals once again host their traditional Fourth of July game at 11:05 a.m., this season taking on division-rival New York Mets. 

“Our goal is always to deliver a top-tier ballpark experience to our fans, and that includes making sure that attending a game at Nationals Park is as convenient as possible,” said Alan H. Gottlieb, Chief Operating Officer, Lerner Sports Group. “Starting our evening games 20 minutes earlier, combined with MLB rules that have significantly shortened game times, makes it easier for fans to stay the full nine innings – even on a school or work night.”

Nationals Park gates will continue to open at 5:30 p.m. for evening games and will open 75 minutes prior to scheduled first pitch for all games, unless otherwise noted. All gate and game times are subject to change. The full 2024 schedule is attached.

In addition to 6:45 p.m. start times making evening games more convenient for fans of all ages, Sundays at Nationals Park continue to be focused on families. The 2024 season welcomes the return of popular events like Signature Sundays, Kids Run the Bases and special giveaways, with first pitch scheduled for 1:35 p.m. Special Kids Giveaway Mini-Plans are now available at nats.com/5Packs.

Select 2024 ticket plans, including Premier, Pick ‘Em and Ballpark Access, are on sale now at nats.com/Tickets. Holiday Packs, which include an exclusive Nationals gift, will go on sale tomorrow, Tuesday, Nov. 7. Single-game tickets will go on sale in December. Fans can sign up for the free Nationals Fan Club at nats.com/FanClub to receive early access, insider information and additional offers.

The World Series ended five days ago. That means, for all intents and purposes, the offseason begins today.

While there have been a few newsworthy developments up to this point, today marks the more official start of the Hot Stove League. Free agents may begin to sign contracts. Teams must set their 40-man rosters. Decisions of real consequence will start being made.

What might this offseason have in store for the Nationals? Here’s a primer to get you in the right frame of mind for what comes next …

* SETTING THE 40-MAN ROSTER
The first order of business is setting the organization’s 40-man roster, which for the last seven months has included more than 40 players. That’s because anyone on the 60-day injured list didn’t count against the total.

But there is no IL during the offseason. Healthy or not, everyone must be included on the 40-man roster or else be placed on waivers, made available to other teams or just flat-out released altogether.

PROSPECT REVIEW: T.J. WHITE

Age on opening day 2024: 20

How acquired: Drafted in fifth round in 2021 from Paul M. Dorman High School in Roebuck, S.C.

Ranking: No. 27 per MLB Pipeline, No. 16 per Baseball America

MLB ETA: 2025
* Projected by MLB Pipeline

For as much angst as the recently completed World Series generated – How dare the venerable Fall Classic feature a 90-win team against an 84-win team, neither of which won its division! – it really should have been embraced to the fullest extent around here.

Not because Nationals fans should’ve felt an emotional pull toward the Rangers, who spent the first 11 of their 63 years of existence as the Washington Senators. Not because it afforded Max Scherzer the opportunity to win his second ring. And not because the Diamondbacks made sure neither the reviled Dodgers nor the reviled Phillies (who took care of the reviled Braves) would reach the World Series again.

No, this series should’ve been wholly embraced by any baseball fan in the D.C. area because it offered something that’s been in short supply around here for several years now: Hope. Real hope.

Surely you heard it mentioned once or 17 times in the last two weeks, but just in case you forgot: Both the Rangers and Diamondbacks lost 100-plus games two seasons ago. Then Texas went 68-94 while Arizona went 74-88 last season. And here they were squaring off in the final week of October for the Commissioner’s Trophy.

The Nationals, as you already know, lost 107 games last season. And they finished this season 71-91. Huh, how do you like that?

PROSPECT REVIEW: ARMANDO CRUZ

Age on opening day 2024: 20

How acquired: Signed as international free agent, January 2021

Ranking: No. 26 per MLB Pipeline, No. 18 per Baseball America

MLB ETA: 2025
* Projected by MLB Pipeline

The Nationals decided to promote from within when selecting a new farm director. The club today named Eddie Longosz as vice president and assistant general manager of player development and administration, giving a longtime front office member the opportunity to now oversee the entire minor league operation.

Longosz, 37, has worked for the Nationals since 2010 and spent the last eight seasons as director of scouting operations. In that role, he assisted general manager Mike Rizzo on all aspects of the club’s amateur, professional and international scouting operations.

This promotion moves Longosz into a new area, one the organization has been trying to improve for some time. When longtime farm director Doug Harris was forced to leave baseball in 2020 while fighting an ongoing battle with cancer, his longtime assistant Mark Scialabba formally took over a role he essentially had already held for several years. Two years later, the team made veteran scout De Jon Watson director of player development, tasked with overhauling a farm system that was undergoing massive change following the trades of Juan Soto, Max Scherzer, Trea Turner and others for prospects.

The Nats parted ways with Watson shortly after this season ended, though, making him one of a number of experienced baseball operations staffers who either were let go, resigned or retired. Now they turn to Longosz to take over a critical job for a franchise counting on several top prospects to make their major league debuts in the next few years.

“Eddie Longosz has been integral to our organization’s success over the past 14 years,” Rizzo said in the team’s statement announcing the promotion. “He is a tireless worker with extensive knowledge of our minor league players, coaches and system as a whole. He developed strong relationships with many of our current players during the draft process and has earned not only their trust, but the trust of those around them.

The Washington Nationals announced the promotion of Eddie Longosz to Vice President and Assistant General Manager of Player Development and Administration on Friday. Nationals President of Baseball Operations and General Manager Mike Rizzo made the announcement.

Longosz, 37, was promoted to this role after spending the last eight years as Washington’s director of scouting operations. He was promoted from assistant director following the 2015 season. In his role, Longosz assisted Mike Rizzo on all aspects of Washington’s amateur, professional and international scouting operations.

“Eddie Longosz has been integral to our organization’s success over the past 14 years,” said President of Baseball Operations and General Manager Mike Rizzo. “He is a tireless worker with extensive knowledge of our Minor League players, coaches and system as a whole. He developed strong relationships with many of our current players during the draft process and has earned not only their trust, but the trust of those around them. Beyond his support of our draft operations, his expertise in emerging technology and analytics will enhance our process and make us more efficient. Eddie is very well respected around the league, and I could not be happier to have him leading our player development system.” 

Longosz is in his 14th year with the Nationals after joining the organization in 2010. He became a full-time scouting assistant in 2011, a role he held for four seasons before being promoted to assistant director of scouting operations in 2015.

A Washington, D.C. native, Longosz graduated from St. Albans School in Washington, D.C. He attended the University of Richmond (VA) and graduated in 2009 with a degree in business administration with a concentration in finance. He is currently pursuing his Master’s of Business Administration from New York University’s Leonard N. Stern School of Business Executive Program.

PROSPECT REVIEW: DARREN BAKER

Age on opening day 2024: 25

How acquired: Drafted in 10th round in 2021 from University of California, Berkeley

Ranking: No. 24 per MLB Pipeline, No. 26 per Baseball America

MLB ETA: 2023
* Projected by MLB Pipeline

PLAYER REVIEW: MASON THOMPSON

Age on Opening Day 2024: 26

How acquired: Traded with Jordy Barley from Padres for Daniel Hudson, July 2021

MLB service time: 2 years, 42 days

2023 salary: $724,400

The Nationals have declined their 2024 club option on Victor Robles, but that doesn’t necessarily mean an end to the outfielder’s time with the organization.

In choosing not to pick up their $3.3 million option for Robles, the Nats still retain control of the player, who has accrued only five years and 33 days of big league service time. That makes him eligible for arbitration once again this winter before he can finally become a free agent.

The Nationals and Robles could negotiate and agree to terms on a 2024 salary, one that most likely would be worth more than the $2.325 million he made this year but less than the $3.3 million option they agreed last offseason. If they can’t come to terms by January, they could file competing figures for arbitration and await the ruling of a three-judge panel.

Or, the Nats still could decide to cut ties with Robles and not tender him a contract before the league-wide Nov. 17 deadline, making him a free agent now.

It’s not entirely clear which direction the team will go after another disappointing season from Robles, though this time for different reasons from the past.

PLAYER REVIEW: ANDRES MACHADO

Age on Opening Day 2024: 30

How acquired: Signed as minor league free agent, February 2021

MLB service time: 2 years, 23 days

2023 salary: $720,000

PROSPECT REVIEW: DREW MILLAS

Age on opening day 2024: 26

How acquired: Traded with Richard Guasch and Seth Shuman from Athletics for Yan Gomes, Josh Harrison and cash in July 2021; originally drafted in seventh round by Athletics in 2019 from Missouri State University

Ranking: No. 22 per MLB Pipeline, No. 28 per Baseball America

MLB debut: Aug. 28, 2023

PROSPECT REVIEW: ISRAEL PINEDA

Age on opening day 2024: 23

How acquired: Signed as international free agent, July 2016

Ranking: No. 21 per MLB Pipeline, No. 21 per Baseball America

MLB debut: Sept. 11, 2022

PLAYER REVIEW: JORDAN WEEMS

Age on Opening Day 2024: 31

How acquired: Signed as minor-league free agent, March 2022

MLB service time: 2 years, 55 days

2023 salary: $720,000

In reshaping their coaching staff, the Nationals appear to be looking inward for help.

The Nats are promoting Ricky Gutierrez to third base coach and Gerardo Parra to first base coach, a source familiar with the decisions confirmed, filling two of the four vacant jobs on Davey Martinez’s big league staff with a couple of former big league players who already worked for the organization.

Gutierrez, who replaces Gary DiSarcina, spent this season as the Nationals run prevention coordinator, essentially an extra infield coach on the major league staff who traveled with the team and was in the dugout during games. He received praise for his work with CJ Abrams, who developed into a much better defensive shortstop over the course of the season.

The 53-year-old former infielder for the Padres, Astros, Cubs, Indians, Mets and Red Sox will be coaching third base in the majors for the first time. He does have some experience at that position, though, as manager of the Reds’ Double-A affiliate in 2021.

DiSarcina had far more big league coaching experience, including the last two years with the Nationals, but the club did not renew his contract after the season ended, signaling a desire for better performance at that position.

PROSPECT REVIEW: JEREMY DE LA ROSA

Age on opening day 2024: 22

How acquired: Signed as international free agent, July 2018

Ranking: No. 17 per MLB Pipeline, No. 13 per Baseball America

MLB ETA: 2024
* Projected by MLB Pipeline