photo by Jim Havard
From MLB:
“The Nationals have parted ways with manager Dave Martinez and general manager Mike Rizzo, the team announced on Sunday night.
Senior vice president and assistant general manager Mike DeBartolo has been named interim GM. The team will make an announcement on an interim manager sometime on Monday.”
And
“Forever linked by the trade that brought them both to Washington in 2022, MacKenzie Gore and James Wood now have something else in common.
Both Gore and Wood were named first-time All-Stars on Sunday and will represent the Nationals in Atlanta at the 2025 MLB All-Star Game presented by Mastercard (July 15 at 8 p.m. ET on FOX).”
And from the Nationals:
“Washington Nationals outfielder James Wood has been selected to participate in the 2025 T-Mobile Home Run Derby taking place on Monday, July 14, at Truist Park in Atlanta. Wood will be the third different Nationals player (2005-pres.) to participate in the Home Run Derby, joining Juan Soto (2022) and Bryce Harper (2013 and 2018).
Wood, 22, is hitting .283 with 19 doubles, 22 home runs, 65 RBI, 56 walks and 55 runs scored in 86 games this season. Entering play on Thursday, he ranks first in OPS (.934), home runs (22) and RBI (65), second in both slugging percentage (.547) and walks (56) and third in on-base percentage (.387) among all National League outfielders.
Wood ranks second in Major League Baseball with 12 home runs hit harder than 110 MPH behind only Shohei Ohtani (13), and he leads Major League Baseball with four home runs that travelled longer than 445 feet ahead of Aaron Judge (3). Additionally, he paces MLB with 52 batted balls hit harder than 108 MPH ahead of Aaron Judge (51).
Combined with his nine home runs in 2024, Wood’s 31 career home runs tied for the most in Nationals history (2005-pres.) through a player’s first 162 games with Bryce Harper (31) and ahead of Juan Soto (31).”
and
“The Washington Nationals named Miguel Cairo the club’s Interim Manager on Monday. Washington Nationals Interim General Manager Mike DeBartolo made the announcement.
Cairo joined the Nationals as the team’s bench coach in 2024 after spending the previous season as the Minor League infield coordinator for the New York Mets. He was the bench coach with the Chicago White Sox from 2021-22 and was the Club’s acting manager for the final 34 games of the 2022 season, posting a record of 18-16. He also served as acting manager on Aug. 12, 2021 vs. New York (AL) at the Field of Dreams Game (W, 9-8) and September 7, 2021 at Texas (W, 7-2).
“Miguel is well-respected in our organization and around baseball,” said Nationals Interim General Manager Mike DeBartolo. “A diligent worker and student of the game, he has a proven track record of showing strong leadership in a variety of situations, and I believe that his voice and energy will serve as a catalyst to our team and our fan base in the second half of the season.”
From 2018-20, Cairo worked as the Minor League infield coordinator for the New York Yankees. Following his retirement as a player in 2013, he was a special assistant to the general manager for the Cincinnati Reds until 2017.
A native of Anaco, Venezuela, Cairo is a veteran of 17 Major League seasons, with playing experience at every infield position as well as left field and right field. He made his Major League debut with the Toronto Blue Jays in 1996 before stints with the Chicago Cubs (1997, 2001), Tampa Bay Rays (1998-2000), St. Louis Cardinals (2001-03, 2007), New York Yankees (2004, 2006-07), New York Mets (2005), Seattle Mariners (2008), Philadelphia Phillies (2009) and Cincinnati Reds (2010-12).”