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Nationals Introduce 33-Year-Old Blake Butera as Manager, Pledge Development and Data

The organization is pivoting to a character-driven, analytics-forward development model.

Overview

  • At his introductory news conference with president of baseball operations Paul Toboni, Butera framed the job around character, alignment, player development and daily use of data.
  • Early staffing includes Michael Johns as bench coach, Simon Mathews as pitching coach and Bobby Wilson as catching coordinator, with the hitting coach and base coaches still to be hired.
  • Toboni said Hall of Famer Mike Piazza called to recommend Butera after working together on Team Italy during the 2023 World Baseball Classic.
  • Former Nationals reliever Sean Doolittle will remain on the coaching staff in a to-be-determined role, and he already has a relationship with Mathews.
  • Butera said he has phoned at least 20 current players and described a group with urgency and untapped potential.