Exploring Washington Nationals Manager, GM Internal Candidates

The Washington Nationals must hire a new manager and general manager when the season ends after firing Dave Martinez and Mike Rizzo, respectively, on Sunday.

The timing was surprising. But with the franchise heading toward its sixth losing season since winning the 2019 World Series, a chance was probably warranted.

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Washington has set up interim hires for the manager and general manager role. But all signs point to a full search after the season — unless the interims prove themselves.

In the first of several articles focusing on who the Nationals could pursue for both positions, this one focuses on potential internal candidates at manager and general manager.

Manager

Miguel Cairo

The former MLB utility player and Martinez’s bench coach will be the interim coach the rest of the season. He was the interim for the Chicago White Sox in 2023 when then-manager Tony LaRussa was dealing with a health issue. He went 18-16.

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Cairo will get a more realistic audition this time around. He has the respect of the players and the organization. Now he just needs to win. Tall order.

Matthew LeCroy

It’s getting rare to see Triple-A managers promoted directly to MLB manager, but it’s possible here.

He has played for the Nationals, he has coached and managed in their minor league system and he was former manager Matt Williams’ bullpen coach a decade ago. What he has is valuable relationships with every young player on the Major League roster. That could be currency given how important the young core is to the future.

Delino DeShields Sr.

The Nationals’ Double-A manager would be a long-shot, but it can be hard to predict what team owner Mark Lerner will do. He’s managed at Harrisburg since 2023 and he’s the only other realistic internal option. Cairo and LeCroy would have to not want the job for him to have a shot.

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General Manager

Mike DeBartolo

DeBartolo was Rizzo’s top lieutenant, and he’ll run the operation as the interim GM. He’s never worked for another team. Rizzo hired him as an intern in 2012, and he worked his way through the organization. He has the analytics background, a necessity these days. The next three months will show how much of the baseball know-how he possesses to do the job.

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Eddie Longosz

If someone in the organization were to leapfrog DeBartolo, it would be Longosz. He is the vice president and assistant general manager of player development and administration. He runs the farm system. He’s another long-time Rizzo guy, but he’s only been in his current role for a couple of years.

Danny Haas

Haas is the outsider. He was hired away from Arizona in 2023 to be the Nats’ vice president of amateur scouting. He’s probably not ready for this job yet, but as he leads amateur scouting he will have his fingerprints on this draft and it’s his chance to impress ownership.

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