After firing 64 year old Mike Rizzo, Nationals owner Mark Lerner has seemingly been searching for the Fountain of Youth. In the past six weeks he has hired a 35 year old GM, a 33 year old manager and a 30 year old pitching coach. Clearly, the Washington Nationals have a new and very young direction.
The team’s sponsorship with AARP is becoming increasingly ironic. Heading into last season, the Nats were the third youngest team in the league. Now, the manager and GM are nowhere near old enough to collect
AARP benefits either. It is a new era in DC, led by 35 year old Paul Toboni and 33 year old Blake Butera.
This is a massive departure from the status quo in DC. Both Mike Rizzo and Davey Martinez were in their 60’s in 2025. Their lack of vigor was on display during their final seasons at times. Martinez lacked his usual fire in the last calendar year of his tenure. Rizzo also seemed to lack that magic touch he had for so many years.
The Nats continued in this direction when hiring a pitching coach. Like Rizzo and Martinez, Jim Hickey was a seasoned baseball lifer in his 60’s. He is being replaced by the fresh faced 30 year old Simon Mathews. A strong message is being sent with these hires.
The failures of recent years have made the Lerner family choose a new path. They seem to be trying to find the Fountain of Youth, much like Juan Ponce de Leon once did when he explored the new world. Ironically, Lerner went down to Florida to find Blake Butera just like Ponce De Leon did to find his Fountain of Youth.
Of course, there are pros and cons to this approach. We can start with the cons, and they are obvious. With experience comes knowledge. You learn a thing or two if you are around the game for decades. The new Nationals brass does not have the decades of experience that many other front offices have.
However, just because they are young does not mean these new faces do not have experience. Paul Toboni and Blake Butera have been working their way up elite organizations for about a decade. They know what it takes to operate in a modern organization.
One of the drawbacks of having a staff full of people in their 60’s is that they can be stuck in their ways. In a game that can change so quickly, it can be tougher for older executives to keep up with the times. Of course, it is not impossible, but it is something that Mark Lerner was definitely considering. He wants to modernize this organization, you can tell by the hires.
The GM is about 15 years away from picking up his AARP benefits, the manager is 17 years away and the pitching coach is 20 years away. The Nats star player is a 23 year old and they are months removed from selecting the youngest first overall pick ever. This is a major pivot and a thought out strategy.
The baby Nats are here and it is no accident. Clearly ownership heard the media and fan criticism about the team being behind the times. Now they are making a sharp pivot. Questions will be asked about whether this is an overcorrection, and those are fair to ask. However, only time will tell because this will be a multi-year process.
With one of the youngest teams in the sport, the youngest manager and the youngest front office, this is about more than just 2026. Nationals ownership is committing to a multi-year plan and a new direction. Of course, for this plan to work they will eventually need to commit to bumping up the payroll.
However, it does not necessarily have to come this offseason. If it does not, ownership and the boy wonders in the front office need to be honest with the fanbase. They have not said this outright, but the actions of the last few months suggest people in DC know that the rebuild was a failure. The Lerner’s have seemingly brought in Toboni and Butera to reboot the rebuild.
Despite the AARP sponsorship, the franchise has gone all in on getting younger. This change is likely to continue this offseason. MacKenzie Gore could be out the door and there have even been rumors of a CJ Abrams trade. If those happen, it would be a signal that the Nats are starting this rebuild over. If the team brass is honest and transparent about what is next, fans will accept this new project. The glory of 2019 still softens the blow of a rebuild, at least a little bit.
For most of the 2020’s, that World Series title was the franchise’s identity. Between the coaching hires, the imagery around the stadium and the rhetoric, 2019 was the Nationals identity. Now, the team has finally made the necessary step to move on from that. They are now the baby Nats, looking to create new magic in the District.
The baby Nats are just trying to build a foundation in 2026. Nobody is expecting a playoff berth or even a .500 record, all fans want is signs of progress. Whether that is individual breakouts, or improvement on the farm, the bar is not exactly World Series or bust.
As the losing seasons roll on though, fans are going to want these boy wonders to show what they are made of. They cannot do this alone though. Ownership has let down this franchise the past handful of years. The Lerner’s cannot repeat the mistake. Once this new regime shows progress, they need financial backing.
Mark Lerner is clearly searching for a youthful answer to his Nationals problem. He has hired some impressive young minds. However, if he does not eventually put his money where his mouth is, his search for the Fountain of Youth will be a failure. Committing to a new direction is admirable, but if this project is going to work, the Nats young executives need help from their boss, who is eligible for AARP benefits.
