Nationals Reportedly Offered Interim Manager Job To Well-Respected Bench Coach
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With the franchise struggling after the first half of the season, the Washington Nationals made a surprising decision to clean house with the firings of both manager Dave Martinez and president of baseball operations Mike Rizzo.
It has been another disappointing year for the Nationals in 2025.
Since winning the World Series in 2019, Washington has been one of the worst teams in baseball.
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With back-to-back campaigns of just 71 wins, the team was hoping this season could be a step in the right direction with some promising young talent on the roster. However, it has been more of the same for the Nationals, who are once again trending toward being at the bottom of the National League standings.
With Martinez gone, the immediate need is deciding who their new manager is going to be.
It sounds like Washington is looking at bench coach Miguel Cairo to take over on an interim basis.
Heard the Nationals offered the interim manager job to Miguel Cairo yesterday who wanted to think it over. Obviously a weird situation for Cairo, who was Dave Martinez's bench coach. Matt LeCroy, Nats Triple-A manager, would appear to be the guy if not.
— Britt Ghiroli (@Britt_Ghiroli) July 7, 2025
Like Ghiroli reports, if Cairo turns down the offer, then it will likely be Triple-A manager Matt LeCroy who gets the job.
Cairo, who was an undrafted free agent who signed with the Los Angeles Dodgers in 1990, carved out a 17-year Major League career for himself where he played for nine teams in The Show.
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After he retired following the 2012 season, he immediately took the role as a special assistant to Cincinnati Reds general manager Walt Jocketty, which began is post-playing career.
Cairo got some managing experience with the Chicago White Sox after serving as their bench coach under Tony La Russa, going 18-16 to close out 2022 when the legendary skipper had to take a leave.
Cairo joined the Nationals staff under Martinez for the 2024 campaign, a position he held onto this year.
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Washington is off on Monday, so they have some time to get this situation settled before they start their series against the St. Louis Cardinals on Tuesday.
The Nationals will have a lot of major decisions to make coming up as the franchise heads into uncharted waters after clearing house in a seismic way.
For more Nationals news, head over to Nationals On SI.
Nick Ziegler is an alumnus of the Connecticut School of Broadcasting. He has been working in sports media covering the NFL, NBA, MLB, and NHL for nearly a decade with various publications online. With his free time, Nick enjoys being at the Jersey Shore with his wife, daughter, and their golden retriever. You can follow him on X, formerly Twitter, @NickZiegler20.