One day after firing manager Dave Martinez and general manager Mike Rizzo, the Washington Nationals are filling in the sudden openings. The team announced Monday that bench coach Miguel Cairo will be promoted to interim manager for the remainder of the season.
Cairo, a former MLB infielder from 1996 to 2012, has been a bench coach in Washington the past two seasons. Cairo will serve alongside Mike DeBartolo, who was named the Nationals’ interim GM on Sunday in conjunction with the firings.
Martinez and Rizzo were fired after Washington’s 6-4 loss to the Boston Red Sox, which put them at 37-53 on the season — one of the worst records in MLB. The move came a week before the MLB Draft, in which the Nationals hold the No. 1 pick.
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In a statement, Nationals owner Mark Lerner said the team wanted a “fresh approach” moving forward. “While we are appreciative of their past success, the on-field performance has not been where we or our fans expect it to be,” he wrote.
Martinez, who was in his eighth season managing the team, led Washington to its first and only World Series title in 2019. Rizzo had been Washington’s GM since 2009. Both were in the final year of their contracts.
Rizzo wrote to the Washington Post’s Barry Svrluga to say that he’s not taking the firing too hard — and to take a bit of a shot at Washington’s ownership.
“The sun will come up tomorrow,” Rizzo wrote to Svrluga. “That’s the job. I had a great run. Navigated that ownership group for almost 20 years.”
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Now, the Nationals will turn to DeBartolo and Cairo to steer the team through the rest of the season, including the draft. Notably, this will be Cairo’s second time as an interim manager in his short coaching career: In 2022, he served as acting manager for the Chicago White Sox while Tony La Russa dealt with health issues that eventually led to his retirement.
As a player, Cairo spent time with 10 organizations throughout his 16-year career, finishing his playing time with the Cincinnati Reds. He will have his first test on Tuesday, as the Nationals travel to play a three-game series against the St. Louis Cardinals. Washington will then play a series against the Milwaukee Brewers before the All-Star break.
