Report: Nationals hiring Blake Butera as manager

The Washington Nationals are finalizing a deal to hire Blake Butera as their next manager, sources told ESPN's Jeff Passan.

Butera, 33, previously served as a minor-league manager in the Tampa Bay Rays organization.

He will be the youngest MLB manager in more than 50 years, dating back to when the Minnesota Twins hired Frank Quilici in 1972, Passan adds.

Butera is most recently coming off a two-year stint as the skipper for Single-A Charleston, where he led the team to a 170-82 record from 2021-22. Before that, he was managing Low-A Hudson Valley, which posted a 88-62 record from 2018-19.

The Nationals hired their new president of baseball operations earlier this offseason, poaching 35-year-old Paul Toboni from the Boston Red Sox.

The 2025 campaign was a transformative one for the Nationals, who posted a 66-96 record while firing general manager Mike Rizzo and skipper Davey Martinez during the season.