Nationals Reportedly Interviewed Former Orioles Manager for Job Opening
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When Paul Toboni was hired by the Washington Nationals to become the team's new president of baseball operations, he stated that his first priority was to hire a manager.
Well, about a month and three front office hires later, the Nationals are still searching for their next skipper with interim manager Miguel Cairo's future still in the balance. Expectations were always that Toboni would hire someone new, but the lack of clarity on that front didn't lend itself to any easy answers.
However, some new information suggests Washington has their eyes set on someone from outside the organization after all, as Jon Heyman of The New York Post (subscription required) reported that they have interviewed someone for the opening.
Nationals Interviewed Former Orioles Manager Brandon Hyde
"Ex-O's skipper Brandon Hyde has interviewed in multiple places, including with the Nats," the insider stated.
That is notable for multiple reasons, but also due to the fact that there seemed to be no headway regarding this managerial search in Washington. With a lot of attention being given to who Toboni had hired in his front office, there wasn't much information out there about the manager situation.
This reported interview of Brandon Hyde is the first update on the search in a long time, with it now being seemingly clear that Cairo will not be retained in his role and the Nationals will indeed go with someone else for that job.
Who Is Brandon Hyde?
Washington's fanbase might be more familiar with Hyde than they otherwise would be based on the fact he was the manager of the Baltimore Orioles for the last six-and-a-half years before he was fired in the middle of the 2025 season. However, it's always good to take a look at any candidate's background.
Hyde began his coaching career in 2005 with the then-Florida Marlins after he played minor league baseball. From 2005-09, he managed many of the team's minor league affiliates and actually won the Southern League Championship in 2009.
After that, he was named the Marlins' minor league infield coordinator in 2010. Then, following Florida's decision to fire manager Fredi Gonzalez in the middle of that season, Hyde was promoted to interim bench coach. He remained in that role until he departed the Marlins for the Chicago Cubs in 2013, getting hired as the bench coach under Rick Renteria.
Hyde won the World Series in 2016 with the Cubs as the first base coach. When Joe Maddon was hired by Chicago following the firing of Renteria, he decided to make Dave Martinez the bench coach and move Hyde to that first base coach role.
That's our Manager of the Year 🫡 pic.twitter.com/jW7XQs5sZF
— Baltimore Orioles (@Orioles) November 14, 2023
In 2018, Hyde was hired as manager of the Orioles. He was tasked with leading a young group of big league players and up-and-coming prospects through what was a teardown rebuild. Overall, it's hard to argue he didn't have success up the Beltway despite his 421-492 record.
After many of those star prospects reached the big league roster, Baltimore was able to win the AL East in 2023 by recording the most wins in the American League. They followed that up by making the playoffs in 2024. But the lack of a single win in the playoffs and the horrendous start to this year caused the Orioles to move on despite him winning AL Manager of the Year just two seasons prior.
Now, Hyde is looking for a new job, and it could very well be in the nation's capital with the Nationals.
