So we are finally starting to get some updates on the Washington Nationals managerial search. For a while, there was radio silence as Paul Toboni was settling into his role as Nats President of Baseball
Operations. However, three candidates for the job have become public. They are former interim boss Miguel Cairo, former Orioles manager Brandon Hyde and current Guardians bench coach Craig Albernaz.
Yesterday, it was reported that all three have interviewed for the job. Hyde was the first name to become public. Jon Heyman reported that Hyde interviewed for the role Yesterday, which was the first public report of an interview. Hyde was the Orioles manager from 2019-2025, when he was fired after a slow start.
Hyde would be an interesting appointment. He certainly would not be the sexy hire after the way his time with the O’s ended. After a magical run in 2023, where Hyde won manager of the year and a strong follow up season in 2024, things really got stale in 2025. Hyde was fired after a 15-28 start to the season. While Mike Elias set up Hyde to fail with a poor pitching staff, the O’s were still underperforming their talent level.
Despite the ugly ending, Hyde’s experience in Baltimore will be useful as Nationals manager. He oversaw a rebuilding team with young talent and eventually brought them to the playoffs in 2023, when the O’s won 101 games. Sure, Hyde has limitations and may not be the man to bring a World Series back to DC, but he has proven he can take a young team to the playoffs.
Hyde is also familiar with this area having managed the Orioles. That is always a useful quality to have as well. For me, Hyde would be the definition of a solid hire. Not a home run hire necessarily, but a decent manager who can get things back on track.
Later in the afternoon, two more interviews became public. Andrew Golden of the Washington Post reported that the Nats had interviewed Miguel Cairo, as well as Craig Albernaz of the Guardians.
It would be very surprising if Cairo got the job, but it seems like Toboni is letting him be part of the process. I am not sure whether he is a real candidate or if this is more of a courtesy interview. Regardless, the more interesting name of that duo is Albernaz.
Craig Albernaz is the Guardians associate manager, and seems like a real up and coming managerial talent. Despite only being in coaching since 2020, Albernaz seems like a real star. After only one year as Guardians bench coach, he became a finalist for the Marlins job and eventually got promoted to associate manager.
He is one of those guys who is almost certainly going to be a manager someday. It is a matter of when, not if. This seems like a guy that would be very attractive for Paul Toboni. At just 42 years old, he is a young guy for the position. A lot of Toboni’s first hires have been young guys, so Albernaz would continue that trend.
Working for the Guardians also gives him a more analytical background. Cleveland is known as one of the more analytical organizations in the league. That background is very attractive for the Nats, who need an infusion of data in the organization.
Right now, Albernaz is my favorite candidate of the trio, but Hyde is also a solid candidate. With information coming out now, it seems like the managerial search is starting to really heat up. That is a good sign and hopefully the Nats can get someone in place in the next couple weeks.
