The Washington Nationals have a new manager! According to multiple reports, the team has decided to hire Blake Butera, a former minor league manager and player development guru with the Tampa Bay Rays.
My first reaction was ‘who is that guy’ and I am sure I am not alone. We will dive into who Blake Butera really is.
The first thing that stands out about Blake Butera is that he is young, really young. At 33 years old, Butera is the youngest MLB manager since 1972. This is a big call by new POBO Paul Toboni, who is also very young at just 35. Clearly, the Nats are all in on a youth movement, not only on the field, but in the dugout and in the front office. The Louisiana born Butera is a perfect fit for this youth movement.
So how did Butera get enough experience to be remotely qualified for this job at such a young age? As you would expect, he got into coaching at a young age. In fact, he got his first Minor League manager job at just 25 years old in short season ball in 2018. Getting that level of trust at such a young age is a crazy feat.
He was able to be a manager in the Rays minor league system at such a young age because the organization knew the person. After a four year career at Boston College, Butera was drafted by the Rays in the 35th round of the 2015 draft. He played a couple seasons in the Rays minor league system, but at the end of the day, he was not good enough.
However, his baseball journey did not stop there. In his short career, he played four games for the Hudson Valley Renegades. That is important because he would be managing that same club just two seasons later in 2018. In those two seasons, Butera was a winner, finishing in first place both years. He went 45-30 and 43-32 in his two seasons there.
After the pandemic wiped away the 2020 Minor League season, Butera began managing the Rays Low-A team, the Charlestown RiverDogs. He spent two seasons there, and once again was a winning machine. Butera finished in first place both years and finished with records of 82-38 and 88-44. In his managerial career, he has worked with future stars such as Jonathan Aranda and Junior Caminero.
However, the Nationals did not just hire Butera because he won a lot of games at the Minor League level. Instead, they chose him in large part due to his prowess at developing players. That is something Paul Toboni has really emphasized and is something Butera will look to do.
In fact, Butera’s latest job with the Rays was not as a Minor League manager. It was in a player development role. His official title was the Senior Director of Player Development, a job he had for two seasons. Before that, he spent a season as a Minor League Field Coordinator.
In his opening press conference, Paul Toboni said he wanted to build a “scouting and player development monster”. The hire of Butera is certainly in line with that statement. Instead of going after a former MLB manager, he found a 33 year old, who is an expert at developing players. Butera fits a Toboni pattern of going after young and ambitious voices.
Honestly, it would not surprise me if Butera was originally interviewed for a front office position and Toboni was so impressed he thought Butera would work as a manager. Butera had been working in a front office role for a few years, but it seems like Toboni saw him as a coach. This reminds me of when Toboni talked about how this business is built around people. Toboni clearly values relationships and must have had a great rapport with Butera.
Speaking of relationships, Butera has built plenty of them over the years. He actually worked under Hall of Famer Mike Piazza for team Italy in the World Baseball Classic. Piazza was the manager, while Butera was his bench coach. Piazza had very nice things to say about Butera earlier today after the hire was announced.
Another person who had nice things to say about Butera was a future rival in new Orioles manager Craig Albernaz. The two crossed paths in Hudson Valley and became good friends. Albernaz tweeted about how much he loved Butera after the hire was announced. It will be exciting to see those two battle in the Battle of the Beltway for the next few years.
While Butera is extremely young and does not have a traditional pathway to becoming an MLB manager, he clearly has experience. He also has a lot of advocates around baseball that know him as an up and coming mind.
This is a guy who was clearly going to be an MLB manager at some point, so why not grab him early. Butera can grow with a young roster and learn along with them. It is not like the Nationals have playoff or bust expectations in 2026. Next season will be all about player development, and that is right in Butera’s lane.
However, it will be important for Butera to have some experience around him. I am going to be very curious who the bench coach is on this staff. Hopefully it is someone with a long history of experience in the big leagues. If Brandon Hyde or David Ross do not get managerial jobs, they should certainly give them a call.
For the hitting and pitching coaches I think the Nats should and probably will go young. It would fit the Toboni ethos and is something the Nats need. Jim Hickey and Darnell Coles were both in their 60’s and had an old school mentality. We need coaches with modern ideas in those positions.
I am truly fascinated to see how this Blake Butera hire goes. It is a boom or bust hire for sure. There is a chance that Butera is just not ready for the job and does not have the seniority to handle an MLB locker room. However, this could also be the perfect fit for a young team. If it goes well, Butera could be a dynastic manager for the Nats.
Clearly, Paul Toboni is not afraid to think outside the box and I love that. When he said he wanted a scouting and player development monster, he really meant. Toboni has already hired so many young, fresh voices. This is something I have wanted for years. Even if it does not work out, I love how ambitious these hires are. Nationals fans have wanted change for a long time, and they are getting it with Blake Butera.
