Nationals appoint Blake Butera as manager, youngest since 1972

The Washington Nationals have reached an agreement to hire Blake Butera as their next manager, naming the 33-year-old former minor league skipper and player development executive to lead the major league club. The move, finalized this week, makes Butera the youngest manager in Major League Baseball since 1972.

Butera joins a franchise in the midst of a rebuild after Washington fired manager Dave Martinez and general manager Mike Rizzo in July and finished the season 66-96. Team officials view Butera’s background in player development and minor league management as a fit for a club that fields one of the youngest rosters in the majors and is seeking to accelerate the growth of its core young players.

Butera spent his playing and early coaching years in the Tampa Bay Rays organization. He was drafted in 2015 after four seasons at Boston College and spent parts of two seasons in the lower minors before moving into coaching. He began managing in affiliated ball at age 25 and compiled a 258-144 record in the minors, winning consecutive league championships with Single-A Charleston. In 2023 he was promoted to a senior director role overseeing player development for the Rays organization.