July 25th, 2006 Arlington ,Texas USA; New York Yankees second baseman (14) Miguel Cairo fields a ground ball during the game against the Texas Rangers at Ameriquest Field. Mandatory Credit: Photo by Tim Heitman-Imagn Images(c) Copyright 2006 Tim Heitman Tim Heitman-Imagn Images

Former Yankees Infielder Named Nationals Interim Manager

Originally posted on New York Yankees on SI
By Jack Markowski | Last updated Jul 7, 2025 2:49 PM ET

A former New York Yankees infielder has received a golden opportunity to take the next step forward in his coaching career.

On Monday, the Washington Nationals announced that Miguel Cairo will serve as their interim manager for the remainder of the 2025 season.

The Nationals fired both general manager Mike Rizzo and manager Davey Martinez on Sunday afternoon following a three-game sweep at the hands of the Boston Red Sox.

Washington has long been removed from the playoff hunt this year. It sits in last place in the NL East with a 37-53 record and is 11.5 games back of the final Wild Card spot.

Rizzo and Martinez oversaw the Nats' run to the 2019 World Series, where they defeated the Houston Astros in seven games for the franchise's first-ever title. It's gone downhill ever since, however, as the team has not finished with more than 71 wins in a single season this decade.

Washington owns the No. 1 overall pick in Sunday's MLB Draft, which makes the timing of the decision a bit curious, but change was needed nonetheless.

Cairo, who was hired as the club's bench coach ahead of the 2024 campaign, will now run the show for the next few months before a full managerial search takes place in the offseason.

The 51-year-old had previously served as the acting manager of the Chicago White Sox for the final 34 games of the 2022 season after Tony La Russa stepped away from the team due to health concerns.

Cairo played for parts of 17 seasons in the major leagues and finished his career with a .675 OPS over 4,392 plate appearances.

His first stint with the Yankees came in 2004 after signing with the team as a free agent. Cairo slashed .292/.346/.417 in 122 contests that year before joining the New York Mets for the 2005 campaign.

He'd return to the Bronx Bombers for the 2006 season and post a .600 OPS. Cairo remained with the team in 2007 and logged a .625 OPS before being designated for assignment that August.

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